He defends the celebration of the goal scored by former England player Maguire
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England defender Harry Maguire defended his goal celebration in Friday’s World Cup qualifier victory against Albania, which the former player considered top and useless due to his poor performances at Manchester United.
England beat Albania 5-0, except to qualify for the World Cup, after Maguire opened the scoring with a ninth-minute header, celebrating with a slip of the knee, putting his fingers to his ears as he turned off criticism.
The center-back has been targeted by United after losing home games to rivals Liverpool and Manchester City, relegating them to a sixth in the Premier League.
Former United captain Roy Keane has repeatedly said the celebration is “embarrassing”, with former England striker Jermain Defoe saying the celebration has left a “sour taste in people’s mouths”.
“No, it wasn’t aimed at anyone, it was a slip of the knee, I put my hands over my ears, of course,” Maguir said in a post-match interview.
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“I am the captain of Manchester United, of course, I will receive criticism when the team is not doing well. I hope so, but it was not aimed at anyone.
“It’s a great feeling to score a goal for your country. In a play-off where the first goal is decisive, we knew how important the game was … how important the first goal was.”
England coach Gareth Southgate was pleased with Maguire’s performance, saying he had been in talks with him earlier this week, which helped the defender “change focus” ahead of international matches.
“Is Hulk Hogan a fan? I don’t know what the celebration was for. He’s a great player … He was on the European Championship team,” Southgate said.
“He’s back in the running because he’s a player with a lot of awareness to help his club. When there’s pressure you get a lot of players hiding in the treatment room.
“He hasn’t done that, and I have a lot of respect for that, but you can go to games that don’t fully fit, and you fit in at those moments.”
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