Crystal Palace winger Wilfried Zaha has come under some criticism after choosing to represent Ivory Coast ahead of England.
Easy option
Former three lions international Danny Mills gave his blunt opinion on the topic of 24-year-old’s allegiance, after his stand out performance for the Elephants during the international break.
“It is just an easy option from Zaha to go and play somewhere else”, Mills said on Talksport.
“Would you rather play for England or the Ivory Coast?”
Zaha made two friendly appearances for England in 2012 and 2013, with his next international appearance coming in January this year for his country of birth.
former Manchester City defender Mills continued, “Ultimately he’s taken the easier option and though ‘well, I might get a few more caps and I might get to play in a few more tournaments because my chances with England are probably going to be limited.”
England manager Gareth Southgate, when defending his choice to leave Zaha out of his squads, has insisted that he will only pick players with an “inherent desire” to play for the country.
On Southgates comments, Mills, who made 19 appearances for England between 2001 and 2004, said: “Gareth just means that he wants people to fight for the shirt and if you don’t get in, you don’t get in.
Mills insisted, “I probably did over 30-odd squads and never got any game time – sat in the stands, sat on the bench – but you still turned up every single time in that hope that you might get a chance and take it.”
Fitting in
Since switching to Ivory Coast, Zaha has made six appearances and scored two goals, one of which was a stunning solo strike against Russia during the recent international break.
In the Premier League, the Palace wideman has found the net five times, most recently in the 2-0 victory away to West Bromwich Albion at the start of the month, leaving him three off his best ever league scoring season.