Harry Kane has accused his England teammates of forgetting the importance of representing their country after eight players withdrew from international duty this week.
At the start of the final international break of the year for Nations League games against Greece and Republic of Ireland, Lee Carsley’s senior options were drastically shortened.
Aaron Ramsdale, Trent Alexander-Arnold, Levi Colwill, Declan Rice, Bukayo Saka, Cole Palmer, Jack Grealish and Phil Foden all withdrew from the squad.
Clubs across the country are gearing up for the frantic run of fixtures across the festive period with injuries already an issue for teams in the Premier League.
With games against Greece and Ireland serving as the final matches of Carsley’s short reign as interim boss before the arrival of Thomas Tuchel in January, there is also a palpable lack of excitement around the fixtures.
But Three Lions captain Kane has expressed his disappointment over the situation, fearing a culture of togetherness fostered by former manager Gareth Southgate may be chipping away.
‘The joy to play for England – he [Southgate] brought that back,’ Kane told ITV. ‘Every camp people were excited to come, every camp people wanted to play for England.
‘That’s the most important thing. England comes before anything. England comes before club. England, it’s is the most important thing you play as a professional footballer. Gareth was hot on that.
‘He wasn’t afraid to make decisions if that started to drift from certain players. It’s a shame this week. Obviously it’s a tough period of the season.
‘Maybe there’s been a little taking advantage of that. I don’t really like it if I’m totally honest. England comes before anything, before any club situation.’
England are in action in Athens against Greece on Thursday night having lost to the same opposition at Wembley in October.
They then host Republic of Ireland at Wembley on Sunday having beaten the Boys in Green in Dublin previously.