Gareth Southgate blasts 'ludicrous' Wembley booing of Harry Maguire

England manager Gareth Southgate lambasted spectators at Wembley who booed defender Harry Maguire during a 3-0 win against Ivory Coast in a friendly on Tuesday.

Sections of the crowd booed the Manchester United defender as he made his first international appearance of the year following a similar reaction when his name was read out as a substitute for the game against Switzerland.

Maguire has received criticism for his performances for his Premier League club Manchester United which has spilled over into the national team as well.

There were boos when his name was announced at Wembley Stadium before the kickoff against Ivory Coast and when he made his first touches. However, Southgate insisted the defender would be key to England's World Cup campaign later this year.

Total embarrassment from whoever boo’d tonight. @HarryMaguire93 has been incredible every single time he’s put on the England shirt. Absolute nonsense now it’s becoming. Back your own players. Especially with a Major tournament coming up. https://t.co/OdqM9F0Uw8

"I don't understand how it benefits anybody because we are either all in it together or we're not," Southgate said.

"I would imagine if you asked a few actually why were they doing that, they might not even be able to answer that because it becomes a mob mentality."

He warned that the hounding of Maguire could make other players fear that they might be next, stating former England players John Barnes and Ashley Cole faced similar treatment, as did Raheem Sterling.

"We're not going to win a World Cup with a load of players that have got three or four caps. That's not happened in the history of the game," he said.

"He's [Maguire] top quality and in my opinion he's the best centre back at his club as