Gareth Southgate defends Harry Maguire and Luke Shaw amid Manchester United struggles

England manager Gareth Southgate has defended his decision to pick Harry Maguire and Luke Shaw despite their ongoing struggles at Manchester United.

Despite starting the first two Premier League games this season, Maguire and Shaw have since been dislodged by summer signings Lisandro Martinez and Tyrell Malacia. However, they were both trusted by Southgate during the international break.

Maguire played the entire 90 minutes against both Italy and Germany as England slumped to Nations League relegation with the World Cup finals in Qatar looming. As for Shaw, he scored during the Germany thriller after his reasonable cameo when coming on for Bukayo Saka against the Italians in Milan on Friday night.

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United teammate Maguire was at fault for the Germany opener on Monday night. However, that moment did not prove to be overly costly for the Three Lions as five more goals were scored during the pulsating Wembley contest, which finished 3-3.

During his post-match press conference, Southgate said: "Everyone will focus on Harry [and his mistake], but over the two matches there were some very important moments that Harry delivered. Luke there was another example of someone who is an outstanding footballer.

"What do we do? Not pick Luke Shaw because he's not playing enough football, or do we pick a player who can do what you saw there on Monday night?

"It's always going to raise debate but, in these moments, we have got to back our best, most experienced players, unless we are in a situation where it's almost untenable or impossible to pick them."

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