Gary Cahill retires from international football

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Gary Cahill has called time on his international career.

What's the story?

England and Chelsea defender Gary Cahill has decided to step back from international duty to focus on club football. Cahill's decision comes after England's impressive World Cup campaign in Russia, where he only got a few minutes under his belt, against Belgium, in their group stage match.

In case you didn't know...

Gary Cahill made his international debut in 2010 against Bulgaria and has played 61 matches for England since then, scoring five goals in that time.

A thigh injury ruled him out from Euro 2012, but he was pivotal for his country at the 2014 World Cup and Euro 2016, although both the tournaments ended on a disappointing note for the Three Lions.

The heart of the matter

England manager Gareth Southgate promoted the young players to the first team, in Russia, which saw Harry Maguire get the nod ahead of Cahill for most part of the tournament. The lack of minutes and the Southgate's preference of the new breed of players have prompted the Chelsea defender to end his England career and instead focus on his club life at Stamford Bridge.

The decision of stepping back was hovering around Cahill's mind for quite some time now, and after teammate Jamie Vardy announced retirement from international football, he has decided to follow suit.

As quoted by the Independent, Gary said, "It's time to take a step back"..

What's next?

Gary Cahill was a valuable player for Chelsea when they won the league under ex-boss Antonio Conte. But, under Maurizio Sarri, he has found it hard to get into the starting lineup, and was not even in the squad for the first three matches of the league this season.

The English defender would be hoping impress the manager soon to get his place in the starting team back.

With his time already up with the national side, Cahill would be hoping to perform well for his club side and win some silverware before retiring from all forms of the game.

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Edited by Priye Rai