Gareth Southgate recently revealed his latest international squad for the upcoming matches against Ukraine and Scotland in September. However, this squad announcement stirred up quite a bit of controversy.
Two players, Harry Maguire and Kalvin Phillips, were included despite not having played any competitive minutes for their club teams this season.
Another unexpected move was Southgate's decision to leave out James Ward-Prowse and Raheem Sterling, who was performing exceptionally well under Mauricio Pochettino at Chelsea in the 2023/24 season.
Rio Ferdinand believes these two players should stop playing for the national team. On the podcast, Rio Ferdinand Presents FIVE, former Man United defender said: "If I was Sterling, I'd be very disappointed bearing in mind what he's done for this England team when he's been in or around it."
"If you're going by the yard stick that Gareth's using with the likes of [Harry] Maguire and [Kalvin] Phillips, why is it alright for them guys to get in and not him? Sterling's probably been the main bright spark at Chelsea. It's just nuts. I'd retire."
"If I'm someone like [James] Ward-Prowse, I'd just retire. Say, 'Listen, don't pick me no more. There's no point. It's disrespectful what you're doing'."
"It is to people like him, especially Ward-Prowse who's been putting up numbers for his team on a regular basis. What more does a man have to do to get a sniff?"
