England star becomes 10TH player to withdraw from Lee Carsley’s squad ahead of crucial Ireland clash
England star Ezri Konsa has returned to Aston Villa after picking up a knock in the Three Lions’ clash with Greece, making him the 10th player to withdraw from the squad this week.
The build-up to the side’s vital Nations League Group B clash on Thursday was tumultuous, with nine members of the team pulling out in a mass exodus which added unwelcome new fuel to the club versus country debate.
The makeshift England team responded in style, dispatching the group leaders 3-0 in Athens courtesy of strikes from Ollie Watkins and Curtis Jones either side of an own goal.
Winning so emphatically in the week puts the Three Lions in pole position ahead of their final group match against the Republic of Ireland on Sunday.
But Lee Carsley’s side have been dealt yet another blow after Aston Villa defender Konsa became the latest player to withdraw from the squad after picking up an injury in the victory on Thursday.
The centre-back put in an assured display at the heart of defence in Athens but was substituted at half-time with the score at 1-0.
Ezri Konsa has joined nine of his teammates in pulling out of Lee Carsley’s England squad
The defender has had a fine season with Aston Villa as the side flourish under Unai Emery
The Three Lions squad was hit by a string of withdrawals ahead of the victory over Greece
There has been no word yet on a potential replacement for the 27-year-old ahead of tomorrow afternoon’s encounter at Wembley.
He joins Aaron Ramsdale, Trent Alexander-Arnold, Levi Colwill, Declan Rice, Bukayo Saka, Cole Palmer, Jack Grealish, Jarrad Branthwaite and Phil Foden in pulling out of the squad since it was announced last week.
England opened the scoring inside six minutes as his teammate Watkins smashed home from close range after neat play down the right-hand side.
The Three Lions doubled their lead after the break as Jude Bellingham’s long-range effort hit the post before deflecting off the keeper and nestling into the net.
Jones wrapped up the win after providing a neat backheel finish after a pass from Morgan Gibbs-White.
Speaking to ITV Sport afterwards, Jones was asked about ‘making an impression’ on the day, to which he revealed the secret as to what helped his performance.
He said: ‘The lads around helped as well. I just went out there and I was playing free. I had a smile on my face, I was enjoying it and I’m happy that I came away with a goal.
‘When you’ve got a team like ours, I can go high, I can come low, I can get on the ball and play – there’s lads there to help. Jude stayed back, so I had a chance and lucky enough I scored.’
Ollie Watkins was perfectly placed to fire home an opener against Greece on Thursday
Jude Bellingham strode through before firing a shot against the post which ricocheted in
A superb flicked goal capped off a fine individual display from Curtis Jones in a 3-0 win
Konsa’s injury comes after the centre-back damaged a hamstring following a challenge from Rasmus Hojlund early in Villa’s 0-0 draw with Manchester United last month and was immediately substituted.
This meant he had to withdraw from the October England squad too ahead of the Three Lions’ disappointing defeat to Greece at Wembley.
He returned to Unai Emery’s resurgent side a couple of weeks later for the match against Bournemouth having only missed the 3-1 win at Fulham.
Other than that, Konsa has been a mainstay for Villa this season and has played every minute of their remarkable Champions League group stage campaign, including the memorable 1-0 victory over Bayern Munich.
He moved to the Villans from Brentford in 2019 and has since made 202 appearances for the side.
