Former England defender Kyle Walker has admitted that he has some regrets over retiring from international football when he did.
Walker could have been in with a shout of a last-minute Three Lions call-up following fellow right-back Tino Livramento’s injury on the eve of the World Cup.
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But the 36-year-old retired from representing his nation in March, finishing his international career on 96 caps.
It ended a 14-year career playing for England, during which he played a huge role in five consecutive major tournaments.
The Burnley defender and Manchester City legend featured in a run to the 2018 World Cup semi-finals and two European Championship finals.
However, the Three Lions went into the 2026 World Cup without him, as a new generation of full-backs took over.
A right-back catastrophe has happened since though, with Thomas Tuchel left short due to injuries to Reece James and Jarell Quansah.
And that led to England icon Wayne Rooney questioning why Walker wasn’t recalled when Livramento was ruled out.
Walker has since responded to those comments, but he was also asked on eSPORTY’s World Cup Gameday whether he regrets his international retirement.
He then admitted: “I think I do regret it, looking in hindsight and there’s a potential place for me in this World Cup squad.
“I look at it now and obviously with Reece and Tino’s recent injuries, maybe I could have got the shout. But when I had the conversation with England, that was not an opportunity I was going to get.
“Obviously not playing the couple of friendlies prior to the tournament, I knew from that moment on that they were taking that set of lads to the World Cup.”
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‘A conversation would have been good’
Walker may have admitted his regret at retirement, but he also wished Tuchel reached out to him before he made his decision.
He has revealed that he was frustrated at not being given the chance to reach 100 caps for England before stepping away.
On 96 caps, he was in touching distance of joining an exclusive ten-man club of those who have made 100 or more appearances for the Three Lions, but Walker never got the opportunity to reach it.
Given the time away he spent from his loved ones just to represent his nation over the years, Walker felt he deserved at least a phone call to explain things.
“You dedicate a lot of your summers,” Walker began. “I started in 2010. That’s 16 summers I gave up, rightly so, for my country.
“And I wanted to do that because that’s the pinnacle of a footballer’s career. But I feel a conversation would have been good.
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“Not after the first time because he (Tuchel) phoned me, which is fair play to him, and said I wouldn’t be in the squad. The second time, I don’t deserve a conversation, he already spoke to me.
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“But after the third or fourth one and it’s getting closer to the tournament, I think that someone should have picked up the phone to me and just had an explanation of why I’m not getting these caps.
“Especially getting to 100 and being so close.”
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