Gareth Southgate says he has never seen a player treated like Harry Maguire as the furious England manager labelled the unrelenting criticism of him “ridiculous” and “a joke”.
Little more than two years on from being named in the European Championship team of the tournament, the 30-year-old is now the butt of jokes to many.
Maguire’s struggle for form and game-time at Manchester United have increased the spotlight on a player that has remained an integral part of Southgate’s England squad.
The centre-back made his first start of the season in Saturday’s 1-1 Euro 2024 qualifying draw against Ukraine and was mocked mercilessly when brought on at half-time against Scotland three days later.
Maguire went on to score an unfortunate own goal but enjoyed the last laugh at Hampden Park as the Auld Enemy ran out 3-1 victors – something the travelling hordes were quick to celebrate with the under-fire defender.
“From a Scotland fan’s point of view, I get it and I have absolutely no complaints with what they did,” the England boss said.
“It is a consequence of ridiculous treatment of him for a long period of time, frankly.
“I think our fans recognised ‘OK, there might be a bit of heat from our own supporters but we’re not going to have it from others getting into him’.
“But it’s a joke. I’ve never known a player treated the way he is – not by the Scottish fans, by our own commentators, pundits, whatever it is.
“They’ve created something that’s beyond anything I’ve ever seen.
“He’s been an absolute stalwart for us in the second most successful England team for decades. He’s been an absolutely key part of that.
“I’ve talked about the importance of our senior players. He’s been crucial amongst that.
“Every time he goes on the field, the resilience he shows, the balls he shows is absolutely incredible.
“He’s a top player and we’re all with him and our fans were brilliant with him tonight.”
England fans chanted his name throughout the second half, including bellowing out ‘Harry Maguire, he’s winning 3-1’ after Harry Kane added to Phil Foden and Jude Bellingham’s first half goals.
Asked how he is after the so-called friendly, Southgate said of Maguire: “He’s good, he’s great. We’ve had a good win, he’s been a big part of that.
“He’s gone and spoken with the media because that’s the sort of lad he is.
“He’s fronted up as he always does, so again enormous credit to his character.”
Southgate said the own goal was “just unfortunate” on a night when Bellingham shone and England produced an impressive performance.
“Really pleased with the performance,” Southgate said after the 116th meeting of international football’s oldest foes.
“We wanted to give a performance that was controlled with the ball.
“We knew that would be the best way of trying to quieten the crowd, which was a fantastic atmosphere.
“I thought we showed great composure, we had good control of possession deeper and we had a real threat with our runs in behind and our forward running and forward passing.
“The team worked incredibly hard without the ball because Scotland’s system can cause you a lot of problems.
“So, I was so happy with all of the starting XI, all of the subs.
“They’ve done a fantastic job and in the end, a really strong performance with an excellent result.”
On Bellingham, the England boss added: “We want all our players to have that freedom and, contrary to what people seem to think most of the time, I think they do have that.
“Tonight, different system they were playing against, different areas where the spaces were open.
“What was key for Jude, the timing of his forward runs. You know, he’s got that ability to slip through challenges and he’s just a brilliant competitor.
“He’s not concerned about the environment.”
Injured Ederson replaced in expanded Brazil Copa America squad
Brazil coach Dorival Junior has replaced the injured Ederson for the Copa America and called three more players up to an expanded squad.
South American governing body CONMEBOL announced that teams can now name a 26-man squad, up from the original 23 allowed at the tournament.
Dorival Junior has called upon Juventus defender Bremer, Atalanta midfielder Ederson and Porto forward Pepe as the extra players for his team.
Manchester City's Ederson will not be fit to play at the Copa America, so Sao Paolo's Rafael has been called up in his place.
The goalkeeper suffered a small fracture on his eye socket in a heavy collision with Cristian Romero against Tottenham and missed the end of their league season.
Brazil’s original 23-man squad, announced earlier this month, did not include Casemiro, Richarlison or Gabriel Jesus, though 17-year-old prodigy Endrick was included.
Selecao are nine-time winners of the Copa America and will kick off their campaign against Costa Rica in Group D on June 24.
Outgoing Brighton boss De Zerbi not walking into new job
Roberto De Zerbi insisted he does not have another job lined up after overseeing his final game as Brighton and Hove Albion boss on Sunday.
One day after surprisingly announcing De Zerbi's departure, Brighton ended their Premier League campaign with a 2-0 home loss to Manchester United.
That meant they slipped below rivals Crystal Palace to finish 11th in the table, their first bottom-half placing since finishing 16th in 2020-21.
De Zerbi has been linked with several big clubs since leading Brighton to European qualification last season, with Bayern Munich, Milan and Napoli touted as possible landing spots for the former Sassuolo and Shakhtar Donetsk coach.
However, De Zerbi says he has not reached an agreement with any other club, telling reporters: "There isn't any club – no-one offered me anything. At the moment, nothing.
"I hope to work in the Premier League again. I don't know where or when, but it was an honour to work in the Premier League."
Sunday's defeat was De Zerbi's 70th Premier League game in charge of Brighton, with his top-flight win percentage of 37 per cent (26/70) the highest of any boss in the Seagulls' history.
Battling a lengthy injury list for much of 2023-24, Brighton made a total of 143 changes to their starting lineup throughout the course of the campaign, with only Manchester City in 2019-20 (144) ever making more in a single Premier League season.
Asked by BBC Match of the Day if there was a particular reason for his exit, the Italian added: "We didn't find the agreement to move on. I want to keep my way.
"I know very well what I want to do and I know I am a coach and I have to accept the policies of the club.
"They gave me an incredible chance. They gave me the possibility to know incredible people, to play and to work in the Premier League, to play in the Europa League. They gave me the opportunity to know this club, this city, these fans and that I cannot forget."
Ipswich Town boss Kieran McKenna and Nice coach Francesco Farioli have both been tipped as possible contenders to replace De Zerbi, with Brighton having a reputation for excellent succession planning under owner Tony Bloom.
Asked about the search for a replacement on Sunday, Bloom said: "We always try and have a plan. We have got a plan. We now need to execute that plan."
Mateta 'finishing everything that comes to him' as Palace rout Villa
Jean-Philippe Mateta is "finishing everything that comes to him", according to his Crystal Palace team-mate Eberechi Eze.
Palace thumped fourth-placed Aston Villa 5-0 at home on the last day of the Premier League season to seal an unlikely top-10 finish, with Mateta scoring a hat-trick and Eze adding two goals of his own.
They ended the season with a seven-match unbeaten run under Oliver Glasner, who made a huge impact after replacing Roy Hodgson in February.
Mateta has been a huge beneficiary, as since Glasner's first game in charge on February 24, he has scored 13 Premier League goals, which is more than any other player in the competition.
He ended the campaign with 16 top-flight goals, putting him level with the likes of Bukayo Saka and Jarrod Bowen in the scoring charts. Only Andrew Johnson has netted more for the Eagles across a single campaign in the competition, when he netted 21 in 2004-05.
"He is what I'm playing for," Eze said about Mateta, per Palace's official website.
"He is finishing everything that comes to him, which makes our life a lot easier when I'm playing for him, so it's good.
"I did come close [to a hat-trick myself], but the most important thing is putting in good performances. We're all going to flourish, we're all going to have games where we score.
"We're preparing the work and we're doing the work before we go on to the pitch, so we're enjoying it, that's the main thing."
The match also saw Mateta become just the second Frenchman to score in seven home Premier League home appearances in a row, after Thierry Henry for Arsenal between May and October 2004.
Eze has also finished the season with a flourish, ending the campaign with 11 goals and four assists.
Mateta is among those who have called for him to earn a place in the England squad for Euro 2024.
"Of course it's an honour [to play for your country]," said Eze. "It would be a great experience.
"I think it is a dream for any player to play in any big tournament. But the main thing, I'm being realistic. It is what it is: if I get a call, I get a call.
"But the main thing is doing what I need to do for my club, and that's the performance."
Villa are the first side to concede five or more goals in their first and final matches of a top-flight season since Manchester City in 1962-63, having been beaten 5-1 at Newcastle on the opening weekend.
But they were magnificent in between those two losses, enjoying a campaign to remember as they qualified for the Champions League, confounding pre-season expectations.
"Thank you to our supporters because even today they were with us," said Villa boss Unai Emery after Sunday's loss.
"We achieved our objective on Tuesday [when UCL qualification was confirmed] and we did everything we could with our supporters in Villa Park on Monday [in the 3-3 draw with Liverpool].
"They were travelling here to be with us, supporting us so we are disappointed with the result, but we have to accept it.
"We have to be happy and share with our supporters the whole season, not just today. Every match is very important and we lost, but we’d achieved our target.
"We have to accept it and keep going forward. Now it’s time to rest and try to follow our players with their national teams and prepare as best as possible the next season.
"We have to enjoy the season we did and we’re very excited for the next season, but we have to take our time now."
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