Rio Ferdinand believes Raheem Sterling and James Ward-Prowse should seriously consider retiring from international football after being left out of England‘s latest squad.
Gareth Southgate named a 26-man squad to take on Ukraine and Scotland last week, with Sterling and Ward-Prowse both omitted despite starting the season strongly.
Sterling has been a standout performer for Chelsea this term, netting twice against Luton recently, while Ward-Prowse already has a goal and three assists for high-flying West Ham after his summer move from Southampton.
But they were still overlooked by Southgate, while Harry Maguire and Kalvin Phillips were called up despite their lack of game time at Manchester United and Manchester City, respectively. Ferdinand feels Sterling and Ward-Prowse should respond to the snub by quitting international duty.
‘If I was Sterling, I’d be very disappointed bearing in mind what he’s done for this England team when he’s been in or around it,’ Ferdinand said on his Vibe with Five podcast.
Raheem Sterling (left) and James Ward-Prowse were both left out of the latest England squad
Rio Ferdinand believes Sterling and Ward-Prowse should quit international duty after the snub
‘If you’re going by the yard stick that Gareth’s using with the likes of [Harry] Maguire and [Kalvin] Phillips, why is it all right for them guys to get in and not him?
‘Sterling’s probably been the main bright spark at Chelsea. It’s just nuts. I’d retire. If I’m someone like Ward-Prowse I’d just retire.
‘Say, “listen, don’t pick me no more. There’s no point. It’s disrespectful what you’re doing”. It is to people like him, especially Ward-Prowse who’s been putting up numbers for his team on a regular basis. What more does a man got to do to get a sniff?’
Sterling’s absence from the squad came as a major surprise given how much he has been trusted by Southgate over the years.
The 82-cap winger was arguably England’s best player on their run to the Euro 2020 final, and began last year’s World Cup in Southgate’s starting XI.
However, he fell out of favour in the second half of last season, and despite his upturn in form he has been left out once more, with the England boss admitting Sterling was ‘not happy’ with the controversial call.
England boss Southgate has admitted Sterling was ‘not happy’ at being overlooked
He is also not expected to be called up as a replacement for Jack Grealish following his withdrawal from the squad due to injury.
Meanwhile, Ward-Prowse can also consider himself hard done by after hitting the ground running at West Ham.
City’s Phillips is yet to play a minute of Premier League football this season but still got picked ahead of him, and Jordan Henderson also got the nod over Ward-Prowse despite leaving Liverpool to join Saudi Arabian outfit Al-Ettifaq this summer.
Ward-Prowse is yet to feature in an England squad in 2023, and has not played for the Three Lions since November 2022.
source:dailymail.co.uk
