ENGLAND fans joked “Kyle Walker was aiming for the flag” after he accidentally smashed the ball into Harry Maguire.
Captain Walker raced back brilliantly to stop Vinicius Junior’s shot rolling over the line.
But as the Manchester City right-back went to clear his lines, he inadvertently booted it into the back of Manchester United defender Maguire.
The ball then deflected off the back of Maguire’s shoulder and thankfully fell for Declan Rice to retain possession on the edge of the Three Lions penalty area.
And fans found the comical 12th-minute moment at Wembley utterly hilarious – especially in light of the furore surrounding the St George’s cross on the new Nike kit.
One said: “I think Kyle Walker was aiming for the flag on Harry Maguire’s shirt there….”
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Another wrote: “You can’t blame Walker for smashing the ball into that giant head on Maguire with the clearance.”
A third added: “Fully enjoyed Walker just booting it into the back of Maguire with no real reason.”
A fourth commented: “Kyle Walker hitting Maguire after stopping the goal was kinda funny.”
And a final user replied: “Absolutely loved that Kyle Walker leathered it off Maguire as he’s doing the ‘keep calm lads’ gesture.”
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Moments later, Walker went down needing treatment and eventually succumbed to the apparent hamstring injury.
The full-back was replaced by Ezri Konsa in what could be a major blow to Manchester City’s Double Treble hopes.
Maguire then survived with another major escape just before half-time.
The former Leicester man fumbled a backpass, allowing Raphinha in with a glorious one-on-one chance against Jordan Pickford.
But Maguire breathed a huge sigh of relief when the Barcelona forward dragged his shot wide of the post as it remained goalless at the break.
However, the man who came on in his place came unstuck for the only goal of the night.
Lewis Dunk gave the ball away cheaply, allowing Andreas Pereira to feed Vinicius through.
Pickford made the save but the ball fell kindly for 17-year-old Endrick to tap into an empty net and secure the 1-0 win for Brazil.
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
