Man United defender Harry Maguire breaks silence on his goal celebration against Albania amid widespread criticsm
Harry Maguire has denied that he was gesticulating towards his critics after cupping his ears in celebration of England’s goal against Albania.
The Manchester United defender opened the scoring with a thumping header in the 5-0 thrashing at Wembley, but he was quickly mocked on social media for the celebration, which was interpreted as a response to criticism for his poor recent form for Manchester United.
The celebration was also slammed by ITV pundits at halftime, with Roy Keane calling Maguire’s antics ’embarrassing’ and calling him a ‘disgrace’ to his club in their harrowing Premier League defeats to Leicester, Liverpool, and Manchester City.
The resounding victory at Wembley effectively sealed England’s place in the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, assuaging the disappointment of their previous game against Hungary, which ended in a 1-1 draw.
Maguire admitted that England were pumped up for the game against Albania.
“I think when you play for England there’s always an edge,” said the defender.
“There’s that pressure that you’ve got to go and win a football match.
“We didn’t win the last game, against Hungary, we were disappointed with the performance; we spoke about that, we analysed that.
“I think if you don’t play with an edge when you play for your country, there’s something wrong.”
The 28-year-old also expressed his relief at breaking the deadlock before Jordan Henderson’s and Harry Kane’s hat-trick capped off an emphatic victory.
“Of course, scoring for your country is a great feeling – the first goal in a crucial qualifier,” Maguire added.
“We knew how important the game was, we knew we had to win the game. [Scoring the first goal] really opened them up to come after us, and then we punished them.
“We knew how important the first goal was, obviously for me to score it is a really pleasing moment.”
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Man United defender Harry Maguire breaks silence on his goal celebration against Albania amid widespread criticsm
