Veteran who hasn't played for England for 8 years is making a surprise run for the World Cup
MANCHESTER, England (AP) — At the age of 35 and in the form of his life, England may have found the unlikely answer to a decade-long problem just in time for the World Cup . Whether coach Thomas Tuchel takes a chance on a veteran striker who hasn't played for his country for eight years, is a question that's growing ever louder. “You can’t not take him if he’s doing what he’s doing now at the end of the season,” England great Rio Ferdinand told watchers of his YouTube channel last month when Brighton's Danny Welbeck was overlooked by the national team again.
Welbeck's best days were supposed to be behind him. A product of Manchester United's famed youth academy, he went on to join Arsenal. A Premier League title and FA Cup winner, he was part of England squads at the 2014 and 2018 World Cups.
But the last of his 42 caps came in September 2018 and, after injuries and free transfers to Watford and Brighton, his career trajectory appeared to be in decline. Or perhaps not. With 13 goals this term, Welbeck is having his most prolific Premier League season.
No other Englishman in England's top flight has scored more. Harry Kane and Mason Greenwood are the only Englishmen to have outscored him across Europe's top leagues. That, in itself, speaks to the longstanding problem England has had in attack.
Kane, the nation's all-time record goal-scorer, has been England's standout player for a decade. He is the captain and has been the focal point of a team that reached back-to-back European Championship finals and the semifinals of the 2018 World Cup. But finding an effective backup has been near-impossible.