Andros Townsend fears his dream of making England’s World Cup squad is slipping away due to a lack of recent opportunities at Tottenham.
The winger was one of the stars of the early months of the season for his club and made an immediate impact in the decisive World Cup qualifiers against Montenegro and Poland, helping England book their place in this summer’s finals.
But since recovering from the ankle injury that kept him sidelined for nearly two months, Townsend has struggled to win a regular place in the starting XI under Tim Sherwood.
Townsend, 22, has started only five matches since making his comeback in the 1-0 win over Everton on February 9.
While Townsend continues to train hard and has shown an excellent attitude, he is believed to have spoken to Sherwood about his relative lack of playing time. At the beginning of the campaign, Townsend established himself as a first choice under Sherwood’s predecessor, Andre Villas-Boas.
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Townsend signed a new four-year deal last October and is determined to fight for his place at the club he joined as an eight-year-old.
But having tasted regular Premier League football for the first time at the beginning of the campaign, when he forced his way into Roy Hodgson’s plans, Townsend knows he needs more than cameos from the bench if he is to retain his international spot over the long term.
The competition for wide places in Hodgson’s final 23-man group is fierce, as Townsend battles with Liverpool’s Raheem Sterling and Southampton attacker Adam Lallana, among others, for a spot in the squad. Townsend is optimistic, however, that he can break back into the Spurs team in the remaining five games.
Despite struggling for playing time at Spurs, Townsend was still named in the England squad for the friendly win over Denmark last month, when he came on as a substitute. Hodgson names his squad for Brazil on May 13 ahead of pre‑tournament friendlies against Peru, Honduras and Ecuador.
