Maguire needs minutes to salvage World Cup hopes

Harry Maguire has been dropped by Manchester United despite being its club captain and the most expensive defender in soccer history.

The big question now: How will that affect his place in England's team ahead of the World Cup?

England coach Gareth Southgate has previously said he finds it difficult to select players in his squad if they aren't featuring for their clubs. And Maguire only has to look at some of his teammates at United－Marcus Rashford, Jadon Sancho, Luke Shaw－to see Southgate often has been true to his word.

Maguire could prove to be a different case.

First, Maguire might now be behind Lisandro Martinez and Raphael Varane in the pecking order of centerbacks at United but he is still likely to get some minutes because of the team's involvement in the Europa League.

Erik ten Hag started Maguire for last Thursday's 1-0 loss at home to Real Sociedad and the Dutch manager is likely to continue to rotate his squad in the competition. That gives Maguire at least five matches, barring any injuries, to try to impress.

Then there are Southgate's options at centerback, which are not plentiful.

John Stones is not a guaranteed starter at Manchester City given the Premier League champion now has five central defenders in its squad.

Conor Coady recently left Wolves, where he had lost his place, to join struggling Everton, and Tyrone Mings was dropped by Aston Villa at the start of the season only to recently regain his place because of injuries.

Crystal Palace's Marc Guehi and AC Milan's Fikayo Tomori have been in and out of England's squads over the past year but neither is currently a player Southgate can rely on.

Maguire, then, might be safe for the time being, especially since he's been a regular under Southgate during the coach's England tenure. After all, it was only 14 months ago that Maguire was selected in the team of the tournament for the European Championship by UEFA's technical observers.

His stock at United has plummeted since then, however. In his last Premier League start－the humiliating 4-0 loss at Brentford－Maguire looked completely beleaguered. Ten Hag has partnered Varane and Martinez in every game since and United won four in a row, conceding only one goal.

Maguire, who left Leicester for United for 80 million pounds (then $97 million)－a world-record fee for defender－in 2019, was on the bench again in the 3-1 win over Arsenal on Sunday and came on in the 80th minute as a replacement for Martinez. Almost immediately, Maguire collected a yellow card for a clumsy foul, and looked shaky throughout his brief time on the field.

Central defense is suddenly a huge concern for Southgate 10 weeks ahead of the World Cup in Qatar.

Still, expect Maguire's name to be there when the next England squad is named for Nations League matches against Italy and Germany at the end of the month.

Braithwaite reborn

Meanwhile in Spain, leaving Barcelona might have been just what Martin Braithwaite needed to boost his chances of a spot in Denmark's World Cup squad.

The forward signed with Espanyol after being among the players Barcelona let go to make more salary-cap room for its new signings.

He scored the winner in his debut for his new club－a 1-0 victory over Athletic Bilbao－and netted again in Saturday's 3-2 defeat at home to Sevilla.

It was Espanyol's first victory of the season, and Braithwaite's first goal in more than a year－since a league game in August 2021.

The 31-year-old appeared in only four matches with Barca since then, the last in March.

Alves jeers

After ending his second spell at Barcelona in the offseason, Dani Alves was asked by Brazil coach Tite to join a team where he could play plenty of minutes ahead of the World Cup.

Well, he's getting game-time at Pumas in Mexico－but things aren't exactly going to plan.

The team is next to last in the standings after 12 games and the 39-year-old Alves recently has been jeered by fans for his performances on the pitch.

Alves has yet to win any of the eight games he has played with Pumas, who are trying to win their first league title in 11 years.

"The jeers don't seem normal or appropriate, we know where they are coming from," said Pumas coach Andres Lillini, who has used Alves in three different positions in midfield as well as at rightback.

Alves was a regular for Brazil in World Cup qualifying and also won the gold medal at last year's Tokyo Olympics.

Agencies Via Xinhua