Jamie Vardy confirms shock decision to retire from international football

The 31-year-old played a bit-part role in England’s run to the World Cup semi finals in Russia and believes the time is right to let the next generation have their chance in Gareth Southgate’s set-up. ‘To be honest with you, this has been on my mind for a while,’ Vardy told the Guardian. ‘I’m not getting any younger and you can see, to be fair to the gaffer, he wants to make it more youthful, which obviously had its benefits during the World Cup – we got to the semi-finals and finished fourth, which is equal to the furthest we have ever been on foreign soil. ‘So I just said to Gareth that I think it’s probably best from now on, especially with the way he wants to go, to bring youngsters in who he thinks have got the ability and start nurturing them into international football. Vardy retires having scored seven goals in 26 appearances since making his debut in May 2015 ahead of Leicester’s title-winning campaign. The former Fleetwood Town and Halifax striker, who