Maguire: 'England is confident to win the World Cup 2022'
Maguire said the "belief of winning the 2022 World Cup" is significantly different for England now than it was four years ago in Russia. He said on December 7: "In the semi-finals last term, the whole British team was happy because we thought that whether we win or lose, we will come back as heroes and be welcome. Everyone will pat on the shoulder. Praise us. This time the whole team believes we have to win."
At the 2018 World Cup, England finished second behind Belgium in Group G, ahead of Tunisia and Panama. In the knockout round, they beat Colombia and Sweden, respectively, to reach the semi-finals against Croatia. But at the Luhzniki Stadium in Moscow, England lost to Croatia in extra time, then lost to Belgium in the third place match. This period, England topped the group with the US, Iran and Wales, before knocking out Senegal in the 1/8 round.
"We understand how difficult it is to win the 2022 World Cup, because there are about five or six teams that share the same belief," added the Man Utd captain. "But we are one of them."
Most bookies or statistics sites think that Brazil is the number one candidate to win the 2022 World Cup. Argentina, France, England, Portugal or the Netherlands are in the next group of candidates.
Maguire also revealed the reason for regaining form in England, after a difficult first half of the season at Man Utd. He stayed away from social networks, even advising his relatives to do it. "They may still not be able to quit social media," he said. "But I'm 29 years old, I'm the captain of Man Utd and played 52 games for England. In my career, every player has had a down time, except for Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo. The problem is the player's reaction. How to get back in shape.
He will meet the defending champion France in the quarter-finals at Al Bayt Stadium, Al Khor city on December 10. French newspaper L'Equipe said that Didier Deschamps' army should "take advantage of Maguire's slowness to break into this position".
