Gareth Southgate revealed that Harry Maguire was replaced in England’s 6-2 victory over Iran due to illness rather than injury..
Maguire’s inclusion in Southgate’s World Cup squad has been hotly debated after he fell down the pecking order at Manchester United, but he delivered a solid performance as England kicked off their Group B campaign with a bang on Monday.
The defender’s aerial presence troubled Iran throughout, and he earned an assist by nodding down a corner for Bukayo Saka’s brilliant volley to put England 2-0 up in the first half..
Maguire was then replaced by Eric Dier after appearing to undergo concussion tests after the break, but Southgate moved to allay any concerns about his condition following the victory..
Harry Maguire was feeling ill. “[He] flagged it before [Iran’s] first goal,” Southgate explained. “There was no point in continuing, but there were no other reasons to be concerned.”
Maguire stated on Twitter, “I felt unwell in the second half and came off as a precaution.” “I’m excited for Friday.”
I felt unwell in the second half so came off as a precaution. Looking forward to Friday. 🏴 pic.twitter.com/OgEmkLGqmS
— Harry Maguire (@HarryMaguire93) November 21, 2022
Meanwhile, Iran goalkeeper Alireza Beyranvand suffered a nasty head injury in an early collision with teammate Majid Hosseini, resulting in a total of 24 minutes of stoppage time throughout the game.
While Beyranvand was eventually replaced by Hossein Hosseini, Iran was chastised for allowing the visibly dazed goalkeeper to continue after the incident..
However, after the game, head coach Carlos Queiroz sought to absolve his medical staff of any wrongdoing, claiming that a broken nose was initially thought to be the extent of Beyranvand’s injury.
“We thought he could go on,” Queiroz explained. “It was unclear, but the player was unable to continue after one minute.
“He suffered a severe concussion and is on his way to the hospital for final exams..
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