Michail Antonio insists that Gareth Southgate should be ‘EMBARRASSED’ for overlooking James Ward-Prowse for England selection… and cheekily says his West Ham team-mate should reject a future call-up after being passed over!<\/h1>\n

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• The 28-year-old called missing out on an England spot a ‘huge disappointment’\u00a0<\/strong><\/li>\n
• Ward-Prowse has dazzled since making the move to London from Southampton\u00a0<\/strong><\/li>\n
• Listen to the latest episode of Mail Sport’s podcast ‘It’s All Kicking Off!’\u00a0<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

  Michail Antonio has called Gareth Southgate’s failure to call up James Ward-Prowse for England duty during this round of international ties ’embarrassing’.\u00a0<\/p>\n

  The West Ham player insisted that there was no bias in his views on his new team-mate’s abilities, and seemed baffled at the England manager’s continuous neglect of the talented midfielder.\u00a0<\/p>\n

  The 33-year-old is not alone in his viewpoint, with widespread outcry meeting Southgate’s England squad announcement last week when it was revealed that Ward-Prowse would once again miss out on a place.\u00a0<\/p>\n

  The 28-year-old admitted it was a ‘huge disappointment’ not have received the call-up minutes after providing yet another assist for David Moyes’ side in their Europa League win against Freiburg on Thursday.\u00a0<\/p>\n

  Ward-Prowse is considered one of the standout signings of the summer window, and has played a key role in West Ham’s fast start after the loss of one of their strongest-ever players, Declan Rice.\u00a0<\/p>\n

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  Michail Antonio (left) has questioned why Gareth Southgate has overlooped his West Ham team-mate James Ward-Prowse<\/p>\n

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  The midfielder has been in fine fettle since his move from Southampton and is considered one of the standout signings of the summer window<\/p>\n

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  But the England head coach seems unwilling to introduce the ex-Southamton man to his set-up<\/p>\n

  Your browser does not support iframes.<\/p>\n

  The decision not bring him into the camp for a friendly against Australia and England’s qualifier against Italy had ‘upset’ Antonio, the striker shared on The Footballer’s Football Podcast.\u00a0<\/p>\n

  ‘He’s taking the mick,’ Antonio began. ‘James Ward-Prowse. How on earth is he not getting a call up. It’s embarrassing!\u00a0<\/p>\n

  ‘It’s embarassing. The stats he has, everything he’s been doing, he’s been playing week-in, week-out – for years.<\/p>\n

  ‘And (instead) he keeps on bringing in people that are not even playing. It’s mad. I respect the players that are going there are quality, but if you’re not playing, you shouldn’t be going to international football.’<\/p>\n

  Southgate has called upon a number of his England stalwarts regardless of their club minutes this season, including Manchester City’s Kalvin Phillips – who has had just 70 minutes of Premier League football with quarter of the season played – and Manchester United’s Harry Maguire.\u00a0<\/p>\n

  The England manager also handed a call-up to Jordan Henderson, who is currently plying his trade in the less-competitive environs of the Saudi Pro League with Al-Ettifaq.\u00a0<\/p>\n

  When reminded of Southgate’s earlier comments about his interest in only picking players who regularly played first-team football, Antonio continued: ‘He said that when he first went in. That’s what he said when he first went in. And I think within three squads that went out the window.\u00a0<\/p>\n

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  Kalvin Phillips received the nod from Southgate despite having played minimum minutes\u00a0<\/p>\n

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  Harry Maguire has also struggled for form of late but is consistently relied upon by the coach<\/p>\n

  ‘And like, it’s just one of those things. I understand that a lot of the time, managers like to pick players that they trust. Which I get, I do understand that. But it’s England.\u00a0<\/p>\n

  ‘So basically, what you’ve said is, he’s built his own Premier League squad. “You know what, no matter what, these are my players.”\u00a0<\/p>\n

  ‘But why I don’t like it is – when you’re playing your best, when you’re doing well, you should be rewarded.\u00a0 That’s what I believe in. And being rewarded – that is England. If you’ve got the stats that should be putting you in the squad, then you should be in the squad.\u00a0<\/p>\n

  Antonio also spoke to his own experiences, and the impact that consistent non-selection might have on a player, sharing that one of the aspects of the game he found most difficult was when he was in form and ‘being dropped’.\u00a0<\/p>\n

  ‘I felt powerless, and I couldn’t understand it,’ Antonio added. ‘So, James Ward-Prowse has been unbelieveable for us, and his stats speak for themself.\u00a0<\/p>\n

  ‘I’m not talking just because he’s my team-mate. There are other players out there that are doing well, that should also get the call-up as well.’<\/p>\n

  Since making his move from relegated Southampton to the London Stadium, Ward-Prowse has become a permanent fixture for Moyes, and has scored twice whilst creating a further seven across all competitions.\u00a0<\/p>\n

  So significant is Southgate’s snub, Antonio argued, that any future call-up might have to come when England change their manager.\u00a0<\/p>\n

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  Ward-Prowse last featured for England over a year ago in September 2022, and has 11 caps<\/p>\n

  When asked what would happen if Ward-Prowse was given the nod close to the European Championships next year, Antonio said: ‘I ain’t going to lie – if I was James, I wouldn’t go! I’m being deadly serious – I would not go. I’d be like, “I’m not playing for you. Why would I do that?\u00a0<\/p>\n

  ‘”There’s no bigger honour playing for your country, but I don’t want to play for the man. End of day, I have done everything possible to be called up by you, and multiple times you’ve overlooked me when possibly, you shouldn’t have.”‘<\/p>\n

  Southgate has called up Ward-Prowse 11 times for senior squad action, but last did so in September 22.\u00a0<\/p>\n

  The midfielder has scored twice in England colours, with both goals coming during England’s World Cup qualification ahead of Qatar 2022.\u00a0<\/p>\n

  IT’S ALL KICKING OFF!\u00a0<\/h3>\n

  It’s All Kicking Off\u00a0is an exciting new podcast from Mail Sport that promises a different take on Premier League football, launching with a preview show today and every week this season.<\/span><\/p>\n

  It is available on MailOnline, Mail+, YouTube , Apple Music and Spotify<\/span><\/p>\n

  Your browser does not support iframes.<\/p>\n

  Source: Read Full Article<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

  Michail Antonio insists that Gareth Southgate should be ‘EMBARRASSED’ for overlooking James Ward-Prowse for England selection… and cheekily says his West Ham team-mate should reject a future call-up after being passed over! The 28-year-old called missing out on an England spot a ‘huge disappointment’\u00a0 Ward-Prowse has dazzled since making the move to London from Southampton\u00a0 […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":293339,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[19],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\n