England’s Jamie Vardy Announces International Retirement
Apr 6, 2019 at 2:05 PM
England forward, Jamie Vardy has announced his international retirement, as the player believes he will not be considered for selection by Gareth Southgate in the future.
Jamie Vardy made 26 appearances for England.
The 31-year old could make only 26 appearances for England. His career revived when he became the Premier League champion with Leicester City in 2015/16 season. Vardy made a huge contribution to his side’s Premier League triumph by netting on 24 different occasions.
Due to the consistent performance in the Premier League, Vardy got his opportunity right away with the England team. However, apart from some matches, he had to start the game on benches, as skipper Harry Kane was England’s prime striker.
Jamie Vardy also featured for England in Euro 2016 and the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia. He scored seven goals along the way, but the striker feels its time to hang off the boots. The Leicester City forward told The Guardian,
“To be honest with you, this has been on my mind for a while. I’m not getting any younger, and you can see, to be fair to the gaffer [Gareth Southgate]. He wants to make it more youthful, which obviously had its benefits during the World Cup. We got to the semi-finals and finished fourth, which is equal to the furthest we have ever been on foreign soil. So I just said to Gareth that I think it’s probably best from now on, especially with the way he wants to go, to bring youngsters in who he thinks have got the ability and start nurturing them into international football.”
The forward has also said he had talked with the England manager and Southgate is okay with the decision.
“I mentioned it to him after the World Cup had finished, out in Russia. And hen I spoke to him on the phone a couple of weeks ago. He let it die down a bit so that I could have a bit more time to think. And then rang me up just to make sure I wasn’t just taking the mickey in Russia. But I hadn’t changed my mind. Gareth said that he felt I still had a lot to offer, and we’ve not shut the door completely. If the worst came to happen and everyone was injured, then obviously I wouldn’t say no.”