da gbg bet： The 31-year-old has many critics, but he remains his country's most reliable centre-back and the manager needs to play to his strengths

da spicy bet： England’s 1-0 defeat by Brazil was a big dose of reality in the face of the nation’s pre-Euro 2024 optimism, a reminder that the Three Lions are not quite the world-beating machine they resembled in their qualifying campaign.

The good news was that this was an England team deprived of two of its best attackers and they will be a far better side ahead of the tournament once Harry Kane and Bukayo Saka have recovered from their respective injuries.

The bad news was that England’s defence was brutally exposed by Brazil, whose lightning-quick forwards offered a roadmap of how best to get at Gareth Southgate’s side. And unlike with their attack, the problem is unlikely to be fixed by other players returning to full fitness.

This was a game when Harry Maguire’s England mask slipped and he looked like the vulnerable, shaky defender that Manchester United came so close to cutting ties with last summer. Maguire looked uncomfortable for most of the game and was taken off midway through the second half.

The only positive from his point of view was that his replacement, Lewis Dunk, was even more of a liability and ended up making the mistake from which Endrick scored the only goal. Dunk’s disastrous intervention only served to underline an uncomfortable truth: for all his faults, Maguire remains England’s top choice at centre-back and Southgate has little choice but to make it work.

Getty ImagesMugged by Raphinha

Dunk took most of the negative headlines for his fatal giveaway, but it could easily have been Maguire who was being harpooned afterwards. Late in the first half, the defender raced on to a loose ball after a header from Ben Chilwell and did the hard part in beating Raphinha to it.

But rather than clear it or move it forward, Maguire took the baffling decision to dribble backwards and was predictably mugged by the winger. Fortunately for Maguire, Raphinha fired wide.

It was not his first hairy moment. That had come in the 11th minute when England were caught on the counter-attack after Chilwell had lost the ball. Bruno Guimaraes launched the ball forward to Vinicius Jr, and although Maguire had time to adjust his positioning, he never stood a chance against the Real Madrid forward, who had also out-sprinted Kyle Walker.

Vinicius’s finish lacked power and Walker was able to clear it before it crossed the line, offering more relief to Maguire. The United centre-back was not a total disaster and, as ever, was useful in the opposing area, heading just over the bar from a set-piece. And he was not the worst culprit in an England defence that gave away seven big chances, as defined by , more than in any other match under Southgate.

Chilwell was wasteful in possession and a liability in defence, a huge downgrade on the injured Luke Shaw, while Walker, captain for the night in the absence of Kane, was shown up by Vinicius and had to come off injured shortly after racing back to clear the shot away.

AdvertisementGetty ImagesStill top choice

Walker will miss the match with Belgium after returning to his club, just like Maguire. But neither player has much to worry about as their deputies do not look like usurping them in the team any time soon.

Maguire has the experience of three major tournaments under his belt, all of which he and England performed pretty well in. He also has a strong understanding with John Stones, who has partnered him at each major tournament.

His England CV means he is still ahead of Jarrad Branthwaite, who is set to make his international debut against Belgium, as well as Dunk, who may not even make it to the Euros after his troublesome cameo.

Marc Guehi might have given him a run for his money, but the Crystal Palace defender has not played any football since the start of February and will not return until late April after undergoing knee surgery.

AC Milan’s Fikayo Tomori was a potential threat to Maguire, but he was dropped from this round of fixtures, having only recently recovered from a hamstring injury that had put him out of action for two months.

(C)Getty ImagesFighting for his place

Maguire, of course, has more than two months to improve his own game and get back on track after his own series of injury setbacks. He has staged his own comeback at United, going from being on the transfer list and even having a £30 million ($35m) fee from West Ham accepted, to unseating Raphael Varane as Erik ten Hag’s first-choice defender while Lisandro Martinez was out.

Maguire was the Premier League’s Player of the Month for November, but he sustained a groin injury against Bayern Munich in December, sidelining him for more than six weeks. And just as he was getting back into the rhythm of games, he picked up an unspecified injury which knocked him out of action for another three weeks, only returning as a substitute against Liverpool.

The Brazil game was his first start for a month and he had to face the blisteringly quick triumvirate of Rodrygo, Raphinha and Vinicius. Perhaps it is unsurprising that he did struggle.

Maguire is one of the most comfortable defenders in the Premier League when the game is in front of him and his team are in control, be it in possession or out of it. But when order is replaced by chaos and he has to defend wave after wave of transition, repeatedly placed on the backfoot, he is vulnerable.

Getty Southgate always an ally

Southgate has always fiercely defended Maguire in the face of criticism, and after the friendly with Scotland in September, the manager described his treatment as “something beyond anything I've ever seen”. During his worst periods with United, Maguire took solace from his time away with England.

But there is a risk of him becoming a scapegoat at international level too if England do not have a successful European Championship. Given the talent and experience in the squad, and the fact they have been handed a relatively straightforward group containing Denmark, Slovenia and Serbia, England should be aiming for the semi-finals at the very least.

If they win Group C and overcome their last-16 tie, they are likely to meet either Spain or Italy in the quarter-finals. France or Germany would then be most likely to await them in the semis. That could take Maguire on a collision course to meet Kylian Mbappe in Dortmund, a match-up few would expect him to win.