RIO FERDINAND believes England are facing a âworst-case scenarioâ by relying on Harry Maguire at the World Cup when he is short of form and fitness.
And the ex-Three Lions centre-back predicts Gareth Southgateâs deficiencies in defence will be our âAchilles heelâ out in Qatar.
Southgate has stood by Maguire during the Manchester United manâs nightmare season where he has lost his starting spot at Old Trafford and struggled with a thigh injury.
The England boss has pointed out that Maguire played a huge role in the nationâs successful runs in the last two major tournaments â and will back his man at the upcoming finals.
Ferdinand can understand that loyalty â even if it may be âblind trustâ â but is concerned about the number of defenders with recent injury problems set to be named in the squad.
Manchester Cityâs Kyle Walker looks as if he will win his race against a groin injury but Chelsea pair Reece James and Ben Chilwell are out.
Ferdinand, 43, admitted: âHarry has not let England down ever. Heâs been phenomenal for England.
âBut his form has gone out the window for Man Utd. Heâs not in the team, heâs got an injury as well.
âGoing into a tournament, I couldnât think of another worst-case scenario. I would be concerned about that.
âYou can go in there with one, maybe, like that. But weâve got Walker and Maguire in the defensive line who are potentially going to be going in there off the back of injuries and a lack of form.â
Ferdinand won 81 caps in his 14 years playing for England.
Being such a great player meant the likes of Jonathan Woodgate and Jamie Carragher rarely got a look-in â two players who surely would rack up the appearances if they were playing today.
Were there such depth at centre-back available to the current Three Lions boss, Ferdinand does not believe he would be so reliant on Maguire.
He added: âHe trusts him. It could be blind trust, I donât know. But he does trust him. As a manager youâre going to go with what you know, with what youâre comfortable with.
âThe problem heâs got is itâs not like he has four or five other candidates like in my generation where youâd be able to go âheâs out of formâ or âheâs not playingâ or âheâs injuredâ.
âI had Sol Campbell, Carragher, Woodgate, Ledley King, the list goes on. All of those players start today.
âIâve always thought if youâre going to win a tournament, youâve got to have a good defence.
âThatâs where weâre probably at our weakest now. Even if there werenât injuries or lack of form, I feel like that was our weakest area anyway.
âWalker, our quickest defender, out. Maguire, form and injuries. When youâre looking at it, youâre thinking, âWhat are we going to do?â Is (Trevoh) Chalobah going to be ready? Heâs playing really well. But last month it was (Fikayo) Tomori. Before that it was (Marc) Guehi.
âThereâs no one in there that you go, âThey jump out as the Noâ1 candidates to go and playâ. So itâs very difficult. That could in the end be our Achilles heel.â
Despite his reservations over the Three Lionsâ backline, Ferdinand still reckons a successful tournament for England can only be defined if they come back with the trophy next month.
It is what he sees as the next step after reaching the semi-finals in Russia and the final at Euro 2020.
He said: âIf you base it on the last two tournaments of semis and then final, surely the progression has to be to win it.
âAnything less is going to be seen as a bit underwhelming because you are looking at the trajectory and the FAâs plans would have been that.â
To win it, England would most likely have to win a quarter-final against reigning champions France, who are many peopleâs tip, including Ferdinandâs, for the title.
There are some that believe that whatever happens this could be Southgateâs final tournament in charge, despite being contracted until 2024.
The Three Lions chief copped flak over the summer for a run of six Nations League games without a win which included a 4-0 hiding at home to Hungary.
Yet Ferdinand added: âI donât know how seriously they take the Nations League. But heâs earned the grace from what heâs done. For just morale, given what weâve been through.âHe was that close, a whisker away from winning the Euros. Heâs taken us to heights that weâve not seen since 1966, in two tournaments.
âHe obviously knows how to get through to the latter stages of a tournament. What are you going to get rid of that for?â
*Rio Ferdinandâs Tipping Point launches tomorrow exclusively on Prime Video.
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