Tottenham Hotspur superstar James Maddison says international break has come at ‘an annoying time’
Tottenham Hotspur’s James Maddison has been called up to represent England for a friendly against Australia on 13 October and later, a UEFA Euro 2024 qualifier against Italy.
Those who have followed Maddison’s career would know how desperate he has been for England call-ups. When he was performing well at Norwich City and Leicester City, he was barely ever called up.
At 26, a player of his quality having just four England caps is a surprise. Three of those came in 2023 after he made his senior debut for the Three Lions in November 2019.
But his form at Spurs this season, where he has two goals and five assists in nine games across competitions, is too hard to ignore. And expectedly, Gareth Southgate is counting on him.
He’s right
While the Spurs vice-captain is happy to be called up, he believes the break has come at a bit of an annoying time, with the club firing on all cylinders and on top of the league. Just before the October international break, we beat Luton Town with a man down.
That took us to 20 points from eight games and to the top of the tree in the league. Speaking recently while away on international duty, the Englishman said, via BBC:
“The international break has probably come at a bit of an annoying time. You would never ever not want to represent your country – because I always say it is the pinnacle when I am away with England – but if I have got my club head on, we are in good form, we are in good momentum, we are unbeaten in the league in eight.”
He isn’t wrong. Spurs are unbeaten and the break has come at a time when it can disrupt our momentum. It is something we have to be prepared for and it can’t be used as an excuse if we lose our form.
The break is, after all, for every club. But it brings with it an air of uncertainty with regard to injuries and fitness problems. We aren’t the strongest team of individuals on paper.
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Hence, we have to ensure that we keep our best players and game-changers, including Maddison, fit and healthy. If this team stays fit for most of the season, the spirit and togetherness is there that you need in a title-winning team. Fingers crossed.
