West Ham United’s official Twitter account posted an article stating the number of players that have been called up for international duty, which left many fans surprised given the recent performances.
Some of the first team players to receive call-ups include Declan Rice, Fabian Balbuena and Andriy Yarmolenko. Given the fact the Hammers haven’t won a Premier League match since 22nd September, these fans were surprised that the player’s recent performances had earned them a spot for their national teams.
Six of our players have been called up on international duty…
— West Ham United (@WestHam) November 13, 2019
No clue how
— andrew jacob (@andrewj1511) November 13, 2019
I’m actually surprised, have they even watched the players perform
— Tyler Jones (@Tylerrjones16) November 13, 2019
They must have grandparents born in the Faroe Islands…
— Avit (@avithammer) November 13, 2019
yet were terrible…
— Bread Ambassador (@MikeBlackwood9) November 13, 2019
Some fans were also concerned about the added injury risk that comes with playing extra games for your country, with Winston Reid having been called up for New Zealand despite not having played for West Ham this season since his injury.
Better not get injured as things are bad enough at the moment.
— Keith ahearn (@Keithahearn4) November 13, 2019
Amazed Winston Reid is allowed to travel with the NZ team. Hasn’t played for 16 months!!!
— Boleyn Badger (@smithatd) November 13, 2019
Nice, but let’s get them back fit and well and playing good footie for us!!!
— Ian Holmes (@IaninAD) November 13, 2019
What Do We Think?
Sometimes the lower-ranked national sides will pick a certain player every time without taking form into account, but for someone like Rice to be rewarded by England is a real shock.
The 20-year-old is believed to be performing far from his best this season with criticism having been flung his way. However, whilst the Englishman’s form hasn’t been awful when you consider how poorly West Ham are playing, you start to wonder what he’s done to earn that spot with the Three Lions.