It has been a long time coming, but Aston Villa defender Ezri Konsa finally got his England reward and made his debut for his country on Saturday against Brazil.
The 26-year-old has been an outstanding and underrated performer for Aston Villa since joining the club in 2019 from Brentford.
Many inside Aston Villa have felt that Ezri Konsa should have been rewarded by Gareth Southgate much sooner.
But better late than never!
Yes, it ended in defeat for England, with Gareth Southgate’s slow, pedestrian and lifeless tactics resulting in the team suffering a 1-0 defeat to Brazil – Ollie Watkins started.
But Aston Villa’s versatile defender did his job, especially against a certain Vinicius Jr.
Ezri Konsa didn’t actually start the game, but Kyle Walker’s early injury meant that he was thrown straight into the action in the first half.
The Charlton academy product wrote on Instagram ‘To make my England debut and wear the England shirt is something I’ll treasure for the rest of my life’.
In the comments section of his post, he was rightfully lauded and applauded by his teammates.
Jack Grealish and Declan Rice praise Ezri Konsa
Arsenal’s £100 million player, who started the game and played the entire match, wrote ‘You deserve it, brother. Buzzing for you’.
Whilst Villa’s former academy star Jack Grealish added: ‘Class performance aswell brother’.
More England caps to come for Ezri Konsa
This has to be the start for Konsa!
Now he has his foot through the door and Southgate gets to see him first-hand, hopefully, it results in more call-ups.
It will be interesting to see, with Walker going off, if Konsa starts against Belgium on Tuesday.
You would think he has a chance, and if he does, then it’s another opportunity for him to book that Euro 2024 final ticket.
Given Konsa’s versatility, you are hoping it provides him with an added edge, added to the fact that Villa are in a strong position in the Premier League and in Europe.
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