“He’s been impeccable with England”, “He’s not let England down” – Rio Ferdinand and 2 other renowned pundits back decision to start Maguire in FIFA World Cup opener

Former England defender Rio Ferdinand has backed Gareth Southgate's decision to start Harry Maguire in their FIFA World Cup opener against Iran today (November 21). The Manchester United legend claims the defender's experience will be key for the Three Lions in Qatar.

England began their 2022 FIFA World Cup on Monday against Iran. Southgate went with a four-at-the-back formation with John Stones partnering Maguire in the heart of the defense. Kieran Trippier and Luke Shaw played as the full-backs.

Speaking on the BBC ahead of the opening game, Ferdinand claimed he was pleased with the lineup, especially with Maguire making the team. He was quoted by Daily Mail as saying:

"That goes back to the experiences [Maguire] has had with tournament football. He's been impeccable with England. He's not in form but you can see a special relationship that's been built with Southgate."

Continuing to talk about the line-up, he added:

"Foden has been in such good form with City, that's the one surprise in there. Maguire has been faultless with England. We talk about trust - when a manager trusts you, he's not let England down. I understand why he's starting."

Maguire hasn't had the best of seasons with Manchester United, starting just five matches across competitions under Erik ten Hag.

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Rio Ferdinand did not want Harry Maguire to start for England at FIFA World Cup

Incidentally, Rio Ferdinand was earlier not in favor of Harry Maguire starting for England at the FIFA World Cup. He claimed that the Manchester United defender was not playing every week and was just coming back from injury.

He said on talkSPORT:

"I think you need to playing week in, week out. But I think Gareth's a very loyal man, he knows what Harry Maguire brings him. Listen, Harry Maguire has never ever let him down in an England shirt, let's be blunt about that. So that will I think carry some weight. But I don't know, going into the tournament as a player who hasn't played any football, it's difficult."

He added:

"It's different going in injured, he went into a tournament [Euro 2020] on the back of an injury remember and played well, but going in and not playing and having no rhythm as well, it's hard work that."

England are in Group B at the FIFA World Cup with Iran, USA and Wales.