Those players who are lucky enough to play for their countries should always be picked on merit, although it does often seem that’s not the case.
If you’re a big name player or someone liked by the management, that appears to come into play.
It’s certainly a narrative that former Arsenal man, Ray Parlour, believes is the case with Eric Dier’s inclusion in the England squad by Gareth Southgate.
Parlour has cited the claims of Aston Villa’s Ezri Konza as being just one player that has, again, been overlooked.
???? “Dier’s not been great this year & he’s in the squad again…”
? “I think of players like Ezri Konsa, he’s been great really good.”
??????? “All the clean sheets Konsa’s got, he has to be close to a call up!”
Ray Parlour thinks #AVFC’s Konsa should’ve got into the England squad pic.twitter.com/awVHdgbFYu
— talkSPORT (@talkSPORT) March 19, 2021