Harry: Good for England, not for United

EVEN when things are going well for Harry Maguire, he's never too far away from a moment where his status as football's pantomime villain is reaffirmed.

- TYRONE MARSHALL

News of the United defender's misfortune had evidently spread to Iran, given the banners some of their fans carried into the Khalifa International Stadium on Monday.

'Harry Maguire: Your defence is terrified' and 'It's not coming home because of Harry Maguire' felt particularly cutting and unfair.

Although the Reds skipper has generally been excellent for England, it didn't stop the Wembley crowd from booing him on a couple of occasions recently. His name was also jeered in Australia on United's pre-season tour and now he's the butt of jokes for Iranian football fans too.

But he turned in a pretty composed and assured performance in England's opening World Cup game, until he started feeling unwell at the most inopportune moment.

Maguire had just signalled to the bench that he needed to come off when Iran finally put together an attack worthy of the name.

Mehdi Taremi ran off the back of a dazed and groggy Maguire and rifled in a fine finish. It wasn't great defending from the 29-year-old, but if ever he can be excused it was surely here, suffering from double vision and looking unwell as he gingerly left the pitch.