Maguire insists England want to go further than they did at World Cup
Harry Maguire insists England want to go further than they did at the 2018 World Cup after booking Euro 2020 semi-final spot by crushing Ukraine… as he praises ‘great belief’ among squad after netting in Rome
- Harry Maguire scored one of four England goals as they beat Ukraine in Rome
- The Three Lions now meet Denmark at Wembley in the semi-final of Euro 2020
- England reached the last four of the 2018 World Cup before losing to Croatia
- But Maguire, 28, insists his side are looking to go further in this tournament
- Find out the latest Euro 2020 news including fixtures, live action and results here
Harry Maguire has stated England’s ambition to be remembered as winners when he insisted reaching the semi-finals of Euro 2020 would now not be enough.
Gareth Southgate’s squad bounded into the last four by firing four unanswered goals past Ukraine; it was one of England’s most accomplished performances at a major tournament in a generation, one which indicated they have what it takes to reach next Sunday’s final.
Denmark – who themselves have generated great momentum since reaching the knockout stages with a 4-1 drubbing of Russia in their final group game – will not be an easy proposition at Wembley but Maguire, whose thumping header made it 3-0 in Rome, is not in the mood to sit back.
Harry Maguire insists England will not settle for making the semi-finals of Euro 2020 after crushing Ukraine
The Manchester United centre-back headed home one of four England goals in Rome
The Manchester United captain, who barely put a foot out of place against Ukraine, played in the World Cup semi-final three years ago but is now on a mission to go one step better than was the case against Croatia. He says that attitude is mirrored by his colleagues.
‘It’s hard to soak it in when you have another big one coming up, you know who you are playing and when you are playing them,’ said Maguire. ‘The dressing room is a great atmosphere but we wake and we’ll be focused again.
‘This group of players aren’t settling for a semi-final, we want to go further so we have to rest and recover and have another big one. It’s a great feeling, back to back semi-finals at major tournaments is a great achievement. I don’t want to be a party pooper but we don’t stop here.’
Gareth Southgate’s men also reached the last four in Russia in the 2018 World Cup before they lost to Croatia
Warming to theme about maintaining focus, Maguire added: ‘We have another big game coming up and we want to go further than we did at the World Cup. It is a great feeling and the way we did it shows the big progress we are making as a country. Long may the improvement continue.’
From the moment Harry Kane scored in the fourth minute, England had the bit between their teeth and the level of their performance will have certainly been noted by the Danes, who beat Czech Republic 2-1 in Baku.
They had to overcome some difficulties late in the first half but the manner in which they stretched clear in the second period, with more goals from Kane and Jordan Henderson, indicated that Southgate has his squad right where he wants them.
‘We have great belief in the dressing room,’ said Maguire. ‘I think the first half was tough, we got the early goal we wanted and they caused us problems with their change of shape but the second goal settled us and from them we controlled the game and deserved the third and fourth.
But Maguire insists the goal this time around three years on is to better that achievement
‘We have to rest and recover and we have another big one coming up.’
Of his goal – the second time he has scored in the quarter-final of a major tournament after his header against Sweden three years ago – Maguire said: ‘We spoke before the game that we need to be better from attacking set-plays, we haven’t scored in this tournament yet and now have two.
‘It was a great ball from Luke (Shaw) and I got a good connection on it and it was always going to end up in the back of the net with that connection from that distance. It is nice to chip in with a goal but more importantly the victory.’
Maguire scored his goal just a minute into the second half following Luke Shaw’s delivery
Another man who was thrilled to chip in with a goal was Liverpool skipper Henderson, who was registering for the first time in 62 appearances. He had been denied one earlier in the tournament, when a linesman adjudged him to be offside when turning in a shot against Czech Republic.
‘It was a very good night and I have had a feeling that one has been coming for a while now,’ said Henderson. ‘It was a very good night. We are so pleased with the performance level. We got a great start and then we went onto score some great goals.
‘It’s a brilliant feeling but we can’t – and we won’t – dwell on it for too long. We have got the biggest game of our lives coming up on Wednesday and we have got to be ready for it. We will know absolutely everything about them.’
He praised his Manchester United team-mate for the delivery as England marched on
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