Calvin Phillips responds to French media mocking Harry Maguire

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Calvin Phillips backed England teammate Harry Maguire to prove any doubters wrong during the World Cup quarter-final against France on Saturday.

The Manchester United defender has withdrawn from his side’s starting line-up ahead of the World Cup, but remains the starting gear under Gareth Southgate at international level. He has started all four matches so far in Qatar, but the French media have called him a weak link.

L’Equipe He said the former Leicester centre-back’s pace “could be detrimental to England a backguard” against France’s pacers, suggesting Southgate could move into a three-man defense to take on the likes of Mbappe and Ousmane Dembele.

Les Bleus have emerged as strong favorites to retain the 2018 title, with Kylian Mbappe leading the scoring charts with five goals so far, including two in their last 16 victories over Poland.

There had been talk of Mbappe targeting Maguire specifically – although his opposite player would likely be Kyle Walker – but Manchester City midfielder Phillips backed the 29-year-old to stand up to the task.

He said: “Harry hasn’t played football as much as he probably would have liked this season and he’s been given a lot of stick, which I think is totally undeserved.

“He’s a great professional and a great footballer. When he plays for Manchester United he’s one of the best defenders.”

“For England he has been one of the best defenders for a long time, especially in tournaments.

“He’s always been that player when we have set-pieces or we need to make a save or do a challenge, he’s always the first to do it.

“He is always the first to head the ball. He has scored some important goals too.

“For a lot of people, because he’s been mocked so much, he’s the first to go.

“If anything bad were to happen to the England team, he would be the first person anything could be said about him. It’s not deserved.”

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“If you look at the major leagues he’s been in and how well he’s done in them, you can’t really make fun of him because he was unbelievable.”

Maguire has appeared in the 2018 World Cup and Euro 2020 so far for England, scoring in quarter-final wins over Sweden and Ukraine respectively. The match with the French national team will be held on Saturday evening at Al-Bayt Stadium.

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