Harry Maguire looked highly uncomfortable and miffed as Alan Shearer praised the England substitutes who took his place on the bench against Croatia.
The Manchester United star, who was ‘shocked and gutted’ at his exclusion from Thomas Tuchel’s squad, is now a guest on Gary Lineker’s World Cup Netflix show.
Maguire, 33, squirmed and his face soured as Shearer spent almost a minute waxing lyrical about Tuchel’s attacking substitutes as well as defender Djed Spence.
The centre-back looked so awkward, one would think he had farted in a lift.
‘His substitutions were really refreshing for me,’ said Shearer, as the cameras somewhat cruelly focused on Maguire’s flickering eyes.
‘They were really positive at a really sticky time of the game. He could have gone really defensive but he went: “No, I’m not having none of that.”
Harry Maguire looked highly uncomfortable as Alan Shearer praised Thomas Tuchel’s subs
‘He made really positive substitutions. Djed Spence came on. He could have scored for a really good save. [Marcus] Rashford came on and scored the wonderful goal.
‘His substitutions were at the right time,’ Shearer continued, as Maguire’s face creased, ‘were absolutely fantastic, and judging by what he said after the game and his attitude, I think that’s the way he’s going to go.
‘He’s going to say: “This is my way, I’m going to be really positive. You either like it or lump it. We’ll either win this competition by being positive… or not and it’ll backfire.”
‘I thought everything he did today was spot on.’
Maguire was also forced to laugh through the pain as Lineker posed an unfortunate question at his expense, which caused his co-presenters Shearer, Micah Richards, Ian Wright, and Patrick Vieira to crack up.
Lineker asked: ‘Did it start to make sense, the way England played today, perhaps some of the people who have been omitted?
‘With one exception!’ Lineker clarified, but by then the damage was done.
Maguire is joining Lineker’s The Rest Is Football show throughout the tournament after his omission.
Tuchel left Maguire at home to simmer during the World Cup – a decision which left the defender ‘shocked and gutted’
There was much clamour for the 66-cap star, who has enjoyed a renaissance at Man United and always been reliable for England, to be included in the squad.
Some felt that John Stones, who only played 86 minutes of league football in 2026 after injury, did not merit a call-up ahead of him.
Maguire posted on social media after his exclusion: ‘I was confident I could have played a major part this summer for my country after the season I’ve had. I’ve been left shocked and gutted by the decision.
‘I’ve loved nothing more than putting that shirt on and representing my country over the years. I wish the players all the best this summer.’
His mother Zoe opted for stronger language, saying: ‘Absolutely disgusted. You couldn’t have done any more. Hold your head high… Disgraceful.’
Maguire has since expanded on his comments, revealing that Tuchel called him on FaceTime to deliver his bad news.
He told Lineker’s show: ‘(Tuchel) speaks to everyone, to be fair. So he FaceTimes everyone… Yeah, it’s quite an awkward call…
‘It’s quite a unique way to do it. It makes it harder probably for himself to see our reactions and things like that.
‘He really said that he can’t really give me an excuse,’ Maguire continued, ‘but I think he said that he’s gone with the four lads that he got through the qualifying in the autumn camps where he felt like they did well during those six games.
‘But he did say that he can’t really give me an excuse. But listen, that’s football. It was tough to take.’
Maguire has represented the Three Lions at three major tournaments but was also left out of England’s squad for Euro 2024 after failing to recover from an injury.
The defender featured in all of England’s matches at the last two World Cups, helping the Three Lions to reach the semi-finals at Russia 2018 and the quarter-finals of Qatar 2022.
However, he has featured in just three of England’s internationals since Euro 2024. He started in the first match of Lee Carsley’s interim spell against the Republic of Ireland in September 2024.
His only appearances under Tuchel came in the most recent international friendlies in March.
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