We absolutely loved Jamie Vardy’s brief but beautiful spell with England.
The Leicester striker played 26-times for his country, having made his debut under Roy Hodgson back in 2015. He went onto play at Euro 2016 and the World Cup over the summer.
Sure, his stint with the Three Lions only accumulated in seven goals, but one of them was a luscious back-heel against Germany and we’ll remember it forever.
However, when Gareth Southgate announced his most recent England squad, he confirmed that Vardy had “stepped aside” from the national team, saying he didn’t want to be considered for selection unless there was an injury crisis.
That’s fair enough, considering he’s the wrong-side of 30 and is seemingly behind Harry Kane and Marcus Rashford in the pecking order.
Besides, Leicester fans will have plenty more to look out for when England play in the future.
If having Harry ‘slab head’ Maguire as a stalwart in England’s back-line wasn’t enough, Southgate announced on Sunday that Ben Chilwell and Demarai Gray have both joined the senior squad ahead of Tuesday’s encounter with Switzerland at the King Power Stadium.
It’s a fine old time to support the Foxes, eh?
In fact, Chilwell is the first academy player from the club to get a call-up since Emile Heskey, while this is the first time since 1974 that three Leicester players have made the team.
However, our only question is; should there there be another Leicester player in the squad?
Of course, we’re on about young James Maddison.
The new signing from Norwich has really impressed in Claude Puel’s side so far this season; effortlessly fitting into the Foxes line-up as a replacement for Riyad Mahrez.
With the international break looming, we felt sure that Maddison would get a call-up.
Instead, it seems Gray has been given nod this time around.
And while he certainly deserves his place in the team – especially after impressing for England’s Under-21 on Thursday against the Netherlands – we can’t help but feel Maddison’s form this season (and last season for Norwich in the Championship, don’t forget) warranted a call-up.
Still, it’s surely only a matter of time, right?
With Southgate continuing to favour youth in his England side and Maddison continuing to turn out in Leicester’s first-team, we imagine he’ll get that dream phone call sooner rather than later.
We’re excited to see what he can do.
READ MORE:
- How Marcos Alonso and Rodrigo went from playing together at Bolton to bossing it against England
- Why do England have such a weird history of calling up random goalkeepers?
- The key difference between England’s ‘Golden Generation’ and Gareth Southgate’s boys
WATCH: Love Of The Game: Leyton Orient (Episode 1)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VD3s7VgLHTI