Manchester United have a long history of England internationals and Kobbie Main joined that lengthy list earlier this season.
The likes of Bobby Charlton, Bryan Robson and Gary Neville racked up the caps for England whilst wearing the famous United shirt.
Euro 2024 is now on the horizon and United will have England representation once again – but some havens’t been so lucky.
Marcus Rashford has paid the price for a disappointing campaign and has not been named in the England squad for this summer.
Aaron Wan-Bissaka continues to be overlooked whilst Luke Shaw is in the squad but could miss out on Euro 2024 due to his ongoing injury woes.
Kobbie Mainoo has made the squad after a breakthrough season and may have a real chance at starting games in Germany this summer.
Mainoo will join Harry Maguire in the England squad this summer with the centre back having a better chance of featuring than Shaw as he also comes back from injury.
Harry Maguire’s dream England XI
Maguire will surely start in the heart of England’s back line if he can prove his fitness in the coming weeks.
The 31-year-old has come in for criticism over the years but has enjoyed a decent season with United and has always been solid for England.
Ahead of Euro 2024, Maguire has spoken to the official England website about his favourite XI of England players from over the years.
The likes of Peter Shilton, Bobby Moore and Paul Gascoigne all made the cut with Maguire going for a 3-5-2 formation.
Three former United players were included too, starting with David Beckham.
Maguire hailed Beckham as a ‘big icon’ whilst highlighting his memorable free kick against Greece in 2001 as a real pinnacle.
“I definitely want Beckham, another big icon. There are so many moments when I think about my childhood watching England and watching football. He was the one you wanted to be. I remember his free-kick against Greece as a particular highlight,” said Maguire.
Maguire then named Michael Carrick in midfield, despite feeling that the ex-United ace didn’t receive as many caps as he deserved.
Carrick racked up more than 300 appearances for United but was capped just 34 times by England despite showing his quality at Old Trafford, with Maguire branding him ‘clever’.
“I worked with Michael Carrick at Manchester United and I know how knowledgeable he is and how clever he is. I don’t think he got as many opportunities for England as he would have liked but he’s the one who I’d really like to play with. He protected the defence really well and he took the ball really well,” said Maguire.
The final ex-United name in Maguire’s team was Wayne Rooney, who will go down as one of the absolute greats for both United and England.
253 goals in 559 games for United, 53 goals in 120 games for England; Rooney was simply exceptional for club and country.
Maguire noted that he would play Rooney just behind Harry Kane in his dream XI and praised Rooney as being both ‘world-class’ and ‘a bit underrated’.
“Just off ‘H’ will be Wayne Rooney, so we’ve got two record goalscorers for England together. If you put them in the same team, you’re guaranteed goals. Wayne was a world-class player and one of the greatest ever English players. He’s probably still a bit underrated in my eyes. I speak to him quite a bit about the game as well and he’s really knowledgeable,” said Maguire.
Maguire’s England record in detail
Maguire earned his England debut in 2017, starting in a 1-0 win against Lithuania just weeks after leaving Hull City for a move to Leicester City.
The centre back went on to become a key part of the England side under Gareth Southgate and starred at the 2018 World Cup in Russia.
United came calling in 2019, paying a huge fee to bring Maguire to Old Trafford.
Maguire has continued to rack up the caps for England and has been a mainstay of the side in three major tournaments so far.
Maguire will now add to that record by playing at Euro 2024, as long as he is fit, and continue the legacy of United players in the England shirt.
Mainoo will join Maguire in the squad and will hopefully be ready to take the baton on from Maguire in terms of becoming a United and England regular in the years to come.