Laura Woods is of the opinion that Gareth Southgate is displaying "blind loyalty" to Harry Maguire despite the defender's most recent lackluster performance.

During England's 3-3 draw with Germany at Wembley on Monday night, the captain of Manchester United, who is 29 years old, carelessly conceded a penalty that cost his team a goal. It was a debatable decision to include Maguire in the team that will compete in international competition later this month given that he is not currently playing regularly for his club.

Maguire has been defended by Southgate in the press, and it is anticipated that the center-back will be included in England's squad for the World Cup in Qatar, which will begin in a little less than two months. On November 21, the Three Lions will play their first group game, which will be against Iran.

Woods expressed his thoughts on the matter to talkSPORT, saying, "I just find that situation really odd to get my head around, because I find the blind loyalty in players like Harry Maguire." "We have to judge them based on their performances, and last night he made some mistakes that cost the team a lot of money, so he is not being played in the Premier League."

"In preparation for England, he enters the room and puts on a shirt. When you are getting ready to compete in the World Cup, international football is not the best place to build your confidence back up. You have no other option but to go there right away because you won't get another chance.

Southgate insisted that England would continue to select Harry Maguire for the team unless his circumstances became "untenable." He made the following statement in regards to the game that took place on Monday evening: "I think in these moments we've got to back our best and our most experienced players - unless we're in a situation where it's almost untenable and impossible to pick them."

While Harry Maguire is around, Gareth Southgate is present.

Woods questioned Southgate's decision to bench Trent Alexander-Arnold as well as Southgate's choice not to award Ivan Toney with his maiden international cap. Alexander-Arnold did not make the cut for the 23-man team that would play on Monday night, and Toney did not play either Italy or Germany after he was called up for either of those games.

Woods went on to say, "Trent Alexander-Arnold, I understand he's had a couple of difficulties as well," adding that he was aware of the situation. "But to not even include them in the squad the previous night and to exclude him entirely, along with Ivan Toney, was unconscionable.

"There are a lot of positives to take away from last night's performance, despite the fact that we came back from being down 2-0, and I understand that. However, it sounds like I'm being really negative this morning, and that's because I am.

"But... bringing Ivan Toney into the situation, putting him in front of the media so he has loads of interviews and tells everyone how excited he is about playing and he has this opportunity and everyone gets stuck into him and he's on the back of all the papers and that's great. "But... bringing Ivan Toney into the situation, putting him in front of the media so he has loads of interviews and tells everyone how excited he is about playing and he has this And then he doesn't even get a look in.

You may ask, "What's the point? What good would it do to even have him in the same room as those other people? Then he goes back to Brentford, and one has to wonder what the state of his mental state will be there. You are acquiring a player who is having an excellent season and is brimming with self-assurance. I just have this weird feeling that there has been some kind of tinkering done, and I really don't understand why."

Southgate offered the following justification for the decision not to include Toney in the squad: "We always knew that we weren't going to hand loads of caps out. We felt these were important matches to hone down on how we want to play and to have a very good idea of where we're heading with the team."