The Sports Buff ⚽️ ⚾️ 🏈

Good morning sports fans, I hope you’re well, looking after yourselves and are in good health. Unless you were living under a rock, you will be aware that the Qatar World Cup 2022 has been happening, and it’s been thoroughly enjoyable.

It will no doubt not be enjoyable for the players who in this article we give a mention. Here, chief sports writer Ayyaz Malik picks out three players who shine at club level, but when it comes to international football never seem to get game time.

Trent Alexander-Arnold

Liverpool youngster Trent Alexander-Arnold has been for a whole heap of criticism this year. The academy graduate has won everything there is to win at club level, but apparently, he isn’t very good.

The football world forgets he’s only 24, hence the need to call Trent a youngster. Don’t worry we won’t give the Liverpool man the Jesse Lingard treatment, we’re better than that.

If Trent was Brazilian (they do have more English-sounding names these days, so don’t knock it), then the football world would celebrate him properly. We loved Dani Alves for his bombing runs down the right, but with Trent, he’s a liability?
He’s world-class, he’s marauding and he’s a modern full-back, you know – standard spiel. As TAA is English and he would be in a Gareth Southgate team, the emphasis is, he needs to defend.

Surprisingly he was taken to Qatar. Yes, England have a lengthy injury list, but the way Southgate is a manager, I am surprised he didn’t pick Aaron Wan-Bissaka.

They will miss Trent when he’s gone, but here at the-sports-buff.com we see him as world-class and a player who can defend! Don’t believe all they tell you like Santa is real.

David de Gea 

Manchester United stopper David De Gea had of course been Spain’s number one for some time. The reason why he makes our list is that since manager Luis Enrique has been in charge of the national team, DDG has seen his game time plummet.

Unai Simon and Robert Sanchez have been goalkeepers that are ahead of the United keeper in the pecking order, and that’s purely down to them being better with their feet than the former Atletico man.

What’s Spain’s loss in Manchester United’s gain? I think it’s absurd for De Gea not to be in the starting lineup. At the time of writing, Spain have been knocked out by Morocco on penalties, which, based on stats is seen as an area of weakness for David De Gea.

Under Erik Ten Haag, a manager who also likes his keeper’s being good on the ball, the 32-year-old has been excellent this year. So, Luis, you have missed a trick for sure.

David, sharpening up your finishing, give it a go up-front, you might get into the side that way. You never know, you probably would outscore Morata.

Timori

The exclusion of Fikayo Timori from the England side enrages me. This is a family blog. The exclusion of the former Derby County loanee at international level would make me use not-so-family-like language if I could give my full opinion.

To put this more mildly, Timori not being in the England defence is a joke. Gareth Southgate has done well at the helm for The Three Lions, but this exclusion of Fikayo baffles me.

The man has won Serie A, the man has excelled in Italy, the training camp for defenders to be elite. This man came into the side, displaced the club captain and now Milan have sold the club captain, due to Timori’s excellence!

Quick, strong and with an excellent reading of the game, I have to ask you Gareth did you lose Fikayo Timori’s number? Or do you just not go to Serie A games?

In this game against France, in the World Cup quarter-final, they will have to deal with a side that has pace all over the pitch, especially up top. Manchester United captain Harry Maguire, who has seen something of a return to form whilst playing for his country, could get badly exposed against the world champions.

That’s nothing against Maguire, but he needs some pace alongside him. John Terry benefitted from that during his career too, and the football world thinks he’s world-class, which he was.

An honourable mention for Chris Smalling and Tammy Abraham who have both been outstanding for AS Roma since they joined from Manchester United and Chelsea respectively.

So, that’s rant over about my best friend Fikayo and our list of three players who don’t get adequate game time for their country but do you agree?

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