Wayne Rooney has backed Manchester United defender Harry Maguire to make the England squad for the 2026 World Cup.
Maguire scored a late winner as Manchester United secured a 2-1 win at Liverpool on Sunday, in arguably the most impressive result of Ruben Amorim’s reign. The 32-year-old has regained favour at club level after a challenging period at Old Trafford.
Rooney has been delighted with Maguire’s turnaround, having been critical of the treatment and criticism the centre-back faced in recent years. He believes Maguire, who has not been capped by England since September 2024, should be in contention for a World Cup place.
“I think with Harry, I would really struggle to have dealt with what he’s been through. You know, he was a meme for years,” United’s all-time leading scorer said on The Wayne Rooney Show podcast.
“I think I’ve seen him in parliament, over in Africa somewhere where he’s getting brought up in that and they’re laughing at him. So for him to have dealt with so much of what he’s dealt with, he’s incredibly strong-minded to have gone through that.
“Then, getting the armband taken off him and people laughing at him and you’re like, this guy has been in World Cup teams of the tournament and been incredible for England, been really good for Man Utd and it’s completely unfair, and it was bullying. He was getting bullied from all over the place and for him to have dealt with that and got through it and stuck with it, you’d have to say ‘you know what, that’s a strong human being’. And for him to get through that and his family to get through that and come out the other side and show his ability, quality and strength, I couldn’t be happier for him.
“Harry Maguire for me shows why he should be in the World Cup squad and I really mean that I think he’s so important. I heard Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink speaking about him in that England squad and how much of a leader he is and players look up to him and it’s the same at Man Utd.
“He could have completely downed tools and wanted to leave the football club when he had the armband taken off him and that’s not easy for any player. Your self pride takes a massive hit when that happens and he’s having to stick there and support Bruno [Fernandes] as captain and not play every game and come on for the last 10 minutes of games. [Against Liverpool] coming in and playing really well again and showing that leadership and he’s a threat as well, set-pieces are so important.”
