Manchester United duo Harry Maguire and Marcus Rashford have finally had their say on the dramatic fall of the Three Lions at the hands of France.
England lost by 2 goals to one against Les Bleus, a result that now sees Didier Deschamps and his men advance to the semi-finals where they will face Morocco.
Alongside Maguire, the other United player to start the match was Luke Shaw, who was given the responsibility of keeping Ousmane Dembele at bay.
Rashford started on the bench and came on in the dying minutes of the game with time running short to make the difference, a decision by Gareth Southgate that has been widely questioned since the defeat.
Maguire, reacting to the loss, stated that he was heartbroken and extremely hurt by the manner of the loss.
The United captain added in his statement that he loved his country, before expressing his gratitude to the supporters and Southgate for their faith in him.
Last night it hurt. Absolutely gutted. A special thanks to Gareth and the amazing fans who continued to believe in me. I love my country and I hope I have made them proud. ???? ???? pic.twitter.com/8qd4rJcaIm
— Harry Maguire (@HarryMaguire93) December 11, 2022
Rashford, who exits the tournament with three goals, also thanked the supporters before vowing that he and the national team would come back stronger.
The 25-year-old wrote on Twitter: “The last few weeks have been a roller coaster of emotions.”
“Each and every one of our team gave everything we had to be ready for whatever was thrown at us, we got close, but not close enough.”
“I’ll make a promise that we’ll be back! Thank you for your unconditional support.”
The last few weeks have been a roller coaster of emotions, each and every one of our team gave everything we had to be ready for whatever was thrown our way, we got close but not close enough.
I’ll make a promise that we’ll be back!
Thanks for the unconditional support. pic.twitter.com/G964SZYiCL
– Marcus Rashford (@MarcusRashford) December 11, 2022
The positive for the Old Trafford faithful is that their stars will have a few days off before returning to United training ahead of the resumption of club football.
Fans will be heartened by his brave and heroic performances for country which will hopefully spill over to United.
