Atrás
One in-form Premier League star could still ditch the England national team for bitter rivals Ireland after being left out of Thomas Tuchel’s latest squad this week. The Three Lions boss named his picks for the upcoming November international break, with England set to play Croatia and world champions Spain.
Tuchel's enjoyed a strong September international break, winning three of their four Nations League fixtures. The only defeat England suffered during the four-game break was against Spain - a result they’ll have the opportunity to avenge in a week's time.
There have been some issues with the squad, including a long-term injury to Alex Scott, who impressed in the September internationals. But despite this, there was no place for Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall in the England squad.
Dewsbury-Hall has been serving up some impressive performances for Everton, who in recent weeks have secured a Carabao Cup quarter-final berth and moved into the European qualification spots. Jobe Bellingham was selected ahead of the midfielder, whose wait for a call-up goes on.
It would’ve represented a first-ever call-up of any kind for Dewsbury-Hall, who hasn’t even represented England at youth level. But after once again being snubbed by England, Dewsbury-Hall does have an alternative option available to him.
That’s because, through family heritage, Dewsbury-Hall can instead represent Ireland. Granted, the 28-year-old has repeatedly played down rumours of a switch of allegiances, stating playing for England would be a “dream”.
And, with Dewsbury-Hall playing some of the best football of his career, the most recent snub could be the final nail in the coffin. Given he isn’t getting any younger, the chance to play international football for Ireland might be too good to turn down if the Irish FA come knocking.
He admitted after inspiring Everton to a win over Coventry: "It was a disappointing morning, I'm not going to lie. It's a massive dream of mine to play for my country.
“I know I was close. [I'm] sad, yeah, but really proud of myself and how I have reacted. All I can keep doing is putting in good performances and hopefully one day I get the nod, because I'm never going to give up."
Meanwhile, Tuchel remarked: "He is close. A very good player, a very good season. I see him, in the way we play now, I don't see him in central midfield - more as an eight or a 10, in the finishing part of the game.
"The competition is very, very high in our squad in this position. As you know he was in our squad of 55 [for the World Cup]. You can see his quality and he was very close."
So perhaps Dewsbury-Hall might wait it out after all. But you wouldn't blame the Irish FA for trying their luck.
Atrás
Top
| Declaración de privacidad Términos del servicio Contacto |
Refresca
|
All the best breaking news stories from Apex Football Lite. Optimised for feature phones and low end Android devices, Apex Football Lite helps users with legacy devices and poor network connectivity access the latest football news and live scores. Particularly relevant for breaking football news in Nigeria, Kenya and South Africa.