Kyle Walker has shared details about the sometimes uncomfortable experience of receiving a call-up to the England national team.
The 35-year-old defender was included in Thomas Tuchel`s squad for upcoming matches against Andorra and Senegal.
Speaking on his BBC podcast, Walker explained that selected players first get a text message notification from a staff member.
Additional details and communications are then shared in a continuous group chat on WhatsApp before the international fixtures begin.
Walker quoted: “There`s a group chat, and they usually send you an individual message first confirming your selection. After that, you`ll see new players who weren`t in the previous squad being added to the group.”
Since the same group chat is maintained rather than creating a new one each time, players who were previously included but are left out for the current squad remain in the chat and can see the messages.
According to Walker, “You don`t leave the group; you stay in. But you feel compelled to mute it because it can be quite disappointing.”
For the matches against Andorra and Senegal, Chelsea`s Trevoh Chalobah would have been one of the new additions to the chat, marking his first call-up to the England squad.
Regarding Chalobah`s selection, Tuchel commented: “We have injuries in defence, and he has shown significant improvement since coming back to Chelsea. He played a part in Chelsea securing Champions League football, and we`ve been monitoring his progress for a while.”
Conversely, players like Phil Foden, Jarrod Bowen, and Harry Maguire, who were not included in this squad, would likely have had to mute the conversation, finding it difficult to see the updates.
The Manchester City midfielder was omitted following a less impressive season, managing only ten goals across 45 appearances.
West Ham winger Bowen`s exclusion was somewhat unexpected, especially considering his recent form where he had scored or assisted in his last six outings.
Manchester United centre-back Harry Maguire has not featured for the England team since March of the previous year.
