Manchester City captain Kyle Walker knows all about what it takes to play for England.
At the age of 34, the full-back has racked up 90 appearances for the Three Lions, playing in multiple tournaments along the way.
After playing every minute of action for his country in the 2024 European Championship, the defender was not called up by Lee Carsley for England’s recent Nations League matches against Ireland and Finland.
Now though, after seeing England win both of those games with a 2-0 scoreline, the City captain has opened up about his recent exclusion from the national team.
Kyle Walker reflects on England snub
In a recent edition of You’ll Never Beat Kyle Walker, the right-back had this to say when asked if he expected to be left out of the England squad.
He said: “Obviously, with a new manager and everything like that, you’re always expecting a few changes.
“Obviously, disappointed because to represent your country is always the highest thing at international level, especially for England when we’re doing so well. But I haven’t played any minutes this season, so you have to take it on the chin.
“As you know me by now, you accept it and you just try and prove them wrong in the upcoming camps.”
Walker was then asked how he found out about Carsley’s decision to not include him in the squad, saying this in response.
He said: “To be fair, he was really nice. He gave me a ring a couple of hours before the squad was announced and we just had a conversation. I said to him, ‘Listen, I’m on 91 caps. I want to be involved.’
“But I think it’s on performances and merit. And I’ve always said that if you’re playing well, then you should be in the squad.
“And I’ve not played, I’ve not performed at any level coming back from the Euros. So I think it’s the right call for me. And I just need to make sure that I’m proving him wrong a little bit in the near future.”
Walker will need to win his place back in the England squad
For City, the defender has only played two minutes of action across their three opening Premier League games, which came in the late stage of the club’s 3-1 win over West Ham United.
Even though Walker has a vast amount of international experience under his belt, he shouldn’t be relying on this alone to secure a place in future England squads.
In fact, Jason Cundy recently claimed that Rico Lewis’ recent performances should worry Walker about getting a place in the England team.
Now that the veteran has said that he knows it will take strong performances to get himself back in the Three Lions fold, this should be encouraging for City fans to see if he can deliver on the pitch moving forward.
