I Love England

West Ham United midfielder Jack Wilshere has praised the recent upturn in form from Ross Barkley at Chelsea and believes his compatriot’s determination can act as a stepping stone for him to make the push to the national side. Wilshere had a decent season with former club Arsenal where he was pretty much a regular but he still had to face the headache of being excluded from Gareth Southgate’s squad.

He thereafter made the decision to move on from the Gunners after his contract expired but his time with the Hammers has not gone as planned after picking up an ankle injury in September. Nonetheless, he is currently close to regaining his fitness and speaking to The Sun, the midfielder highlighted the ambition of earning a national team call-up after watching compatriot and close friend Barkley do so.
He said:“It all comes down to having trust in your own ability. People can say what they want. Ross is the perfect example. I’m so happy for him. He’s a good friend of mine and we were together at the World Cup in Brazil.He has always been a great player and sometimes it takes time for players to find their feet. Obviously, he moved clubs and you can also pick up a few injuries.

Arsenal manager Unai Emery has refused to indulge himself into discussions over the January transfer window despite the injury to Danny Welbeck. The England international recently picked up an ankle fracture in the Europa League game against Sporting and this is widely expected to sideline him for the rest of the season.

Amidst this, there has been speculation that the Gunners could spend in the New Year to add competition to Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Alexandre Lacazette but Emery has suggested that Eddie Nketiah could get into his plans from the reserve side, he said: “The first is to look inside. “We have one striker who is working well in the Under 23s and improving also in Eddie Nketiah,” he said. “He can have chances, it’s too early to speak about the possibility of January.”

Manchester City youngster Phil Foden claims that England will be able to win the World Cup in the near future. The Three Lions have been anxious and waiting for World Cup success since 1966. He even though the national team has had the riches of talented players like Paul Scholes, David Beckham, and many more over the years, they have been unable to translate talent into success. However, there are signs of a change with the team reaching the semifinals of the World Cup 2014 with a relatively young squad. The youth line-up for England is only getting better with the likes ofFoden making a major impression in recent years.

Foden is one of the finest youngsters at the disposal of Southgate and he made a major impression at the under 17 World Cup that was held in October last year.Foden was named as the player of the tournament and he is expected to feature more for the national team if he continues with the same level of progress. Even though it may be extremely difficult forFoden to get regular gametime in a star-studded Manchester City squad, he is expected to learn a lot under the management of Pep Guardiola. England appear to be extremely happy under Gareth Southgate’s regime as he gets ready for a strong Euro 2020 qualification campaign.

Newcastle United manager Rafa Benitez believes Jonjo Shelvey should warrant a place in the England national team after making progress with the Magpies over the past few seasons. The former Liverpool graduate had been under consideration for a potential call-up for the summer World Cup but unfortunately, he was not anywhere near the list of potentials for the tournament.

Speaking in a news conference, Benitez highlighted that Shelvey could be an option for Three Lions boss Gareth Southgate, who had bemoaned the lack of creativity during the recent internationals against Spain and Switzerland. He added that Shelvey may not be the perfect at the moment but he has the vision for different range of passing which may assist the national team.

Arsenal manager Unai Emery has revealed that he had spoken with Jack Wilshere for a period of just 15 minutes before the midfielder decided to pursue a fresh challenge. The England international had been in a contract standoff with the Gunners over the past year and he eventually left them for West Ham United on a free transfer after his deal expired.

Speaking ahead of the Hammers game, Emery said: “I spoke with him for 15 minutes here in Colney before he left.The first thing for me is I have respect for his career here. And then, he chooses what the best was for him in his future. It’s for that, on Saturday, I know that here, the supporters like him and have this respect also.I think there is a good reception for him here. Then we are going to play and we are going to think after that, for us to win. But, I [hope] the best for his career.”

England manager Gareth Southgate has heaped praised on Harry Kane for his leadership qualities during the World Cup. The 24-year-old was appointed as the Three Lions’ permanent captain ahead of the tournament in Russia and Southgate is pleased that the striker managed to lead by example with his performances.

He said: “I think he's done a fantastic job. He's not really captained his club as such so to show the leadership that he did throughout the tournament for us, I was really pleased and really impressed.He has the respect of the entire group. I think his mindset of what's possible and what's achievable, as he's shown with his own game, filters through to the other players. We always have to have that mentality of wanting to work all the time to get better and he has that mindset in abundance.”

Liverpool striker Daniel Sturridge has urged the fans to get behind the England team despite their World Cup semi-final exit at the hands of Croatia. The Three Lions exceeded early expectations to reach the last four of the tournament but their journey was eventually halted by Croatia who beat them by a 2-1 scoreline.

Following the game, Sturridge stressed that the fans should avoid any negativity towards the Three Lions players after their impressive showing at the global tournament, he wrote on Twitter: “If anyone has anything negative to say about this England team or individuals keep your tweets to yourself. Nobody would have thoughts they'd be where they are or achieved what they have and they've made everyone proud so get behind them and show love not hate.”

England international Harry Kane believes he can end his silverware drought by guiding the Three Lions to World Cup success this summer. The 24-year-old was made the country’s captain ahead of the global tournament and he is now keen to lead from the front to end the Three Lions’ 52-year wait for a major trophy.

During an interview, Kane said that he has the opportunity to winning the World Cup this summer amid jokes regarding the Russian teapot which was presented to him in Repino. He quipped: “I’ve got a lot of scoring trophies in my career. I’d like to be sitting here with a big gold one [the World Cup] in a few weeks.”

England national team coach Gareth Southgate has clarified that Joe Hart’s exclusion from the World Cup was influenced by the impressive form of several other young shot-stoppers from the Premier League. The Manchester City goalkeeper has been the Three Lions’ number one in the last three major tournaments but he won’t be involved this time around with Jordan Pickford, Jack Butland and uncapped Nick Pope picked ahead of him in the World Cup.

Speaking after the decision, Southgate said: “With Joe, we've got three other goalkeepers who have had very good seasons and the decision I was faced with was do I keep Joe in and have experience around the group? Or give the three guys who have basically had a better season a chance? "We felt the players all needed to be in on merit after their performances this season."

Former England international Jamie Redknapp has urged James Milner to rethink about his international prospects ahead of this summer’s World Cup finals in Russia. The 32-year-old called time on his Three Lions career shortly after Euro 2016 where he played just three minutes but he has since become a crucial figure with Liverpool.