Jamie Vardy retires from England international duty to spend more time with wife Rebekah and kids

The 31-year-old says he wants to concentrate on his club career with Leicester, as well as spend more time with his family.


Vardy is believed to have told Gareth Southgate that he was considering quitting the international scene while out with the Three Lions for the World Cup in Russia.

It was a tournament Vardy failed to make the impact he would have wanted too.

The former Fleetwood striker started only one game out in Russia, that was the Group G dead rubber clash against Belgium.

He failed to score as Southgate's experimental side fell to a 1-0 defeat.



Vardy made a total of 26 appearances for the Three Lions, scoring seven goals.

Five of these strikes came in international friendlies, one was netted in in Euro 2016 and one in a World Cup Qualifier.

But following his rise from non-league football to the international scene, Vardy has become a constant in the England camp.

He has made every single England squad since he was first called up in 2015.

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My everything ? #vardy

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My everything ? #vardy

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But a lack of game time recently seems to have forced his mind.

Southgate attempted to change Vardy's mind on returning to the UK following the national team's exploits out in Russia, but to no avail.

Speaking to The Guardian about his decision, Vardy said: "To be honest with you, this has been on my mind for a while.

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Family ?? missing my little champ

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Family ?? missing my little champ

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Come on England ?????????????? #worldcup #teamengland

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Come on England ?????????????? #worldcup #teamengland

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“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 has said that he is prepared to make a U-turn should injuries give Southgate major problems on the striking front.

Another player who has decided to "take a break" from international duty is Gary Cahill.

The Chelsea defender said that he "would never shut the door if I was needed in the future".

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