Everton fans have been left scratching their heads after Ross Barkley was not given a single second of game time by England manager Gareth Southgate.
There was hope that the midfielder would be handed an opportunity to make an impression after receiving his first call-up to the squad since last summer’s European Championships.
However, Southgate opted against playing the Everton man in last Wednesday’s 1-0 defeat to Germany and Sunday’s 2-0 triumph over Lithuania.
Instead, Barkley had to settle for watching the action from the sidelines, and it is something that he is used to given that in his last seven call-ups he has not played.
It is a different story at club level, though, as he has scored four goals and created seven others in 27 Premier League appearances this season.
England lacked power in the middle of the park in both games, so Barkley would have been the obvious choice to throw into the mix, but Southgate decided not to take that option.
It left Everton fans feeling confused and frustrated.
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