Ezri Konsa, Aston Villa, Thomas Tuchel
(Credit: Imago)
Declan Carr
Sun 23 March 2025 11:12, UK
Ezri Konsa was the Aston Villa star who impressed the most as England beat Albania on Friday.
Unai Emery had three representatives in Thomas Tuchel’s first England squad with the 27-year-old, Marcus Rashford and Morgan Rogers as the Three Lions cruised to a 2-0 win.
However, only Konsa and Rashford started the World Cup qualifier while Rogers was left on the bench until the 74th minute.
The former’s performance in the contest has gone under the radar while the Manchester United loanee has been slammed for a poor display.
Ezri Konsa
Konsa has starred for Villa and England lately. (Credit: Imago)
Konsa praised for England impact v Albania
Konsa has been a standout performer for Villa this season but it was on the international stage where he thrived this time.
The Villans star won all four ground duels that he attempted for a 100 per cent success rate and recorded a 94 per cent passing accuracy, according to Fotmob, proving his talents on both sides of the ball.
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Henry Winter believes that the former Brentford man is not being appreciated enough for his brilliant display in Tuchel’s first game.
Speaking on talkSPORT (23 March, 10:23 am), he said: “I think the centre-half on view, who really impressed, slightly got overlooked in all of the headlines was Ezri Konsa.
“I thought he was excellent.”
Aston Villa ace can become England regular
While Dan Burn took the headlines, Konsa’s latest display for the Three Lions could cement his position in Tuchel’s starting line-up going forward.
The Villans star was composed on the ball and his no-nonsense approach when the visitors tried to threaten Jordan Pickford’s goal would have done him no harm when it comes to his manager’s thoughts on his future plans.
Stats Konsa v Albania
Minutes played 90
Pass accuracy 94%
Clearances 1
Recoveries 3
Ground duels won 4/4 (100%)
Aerial duels won 2/3 (67%)
Konsa’s stats v Albania
After making just nine appearances for his country under Gareth Southgate and falling down the pecking order to Marc Guehi during last summer’s European Championships, Konsa can now stake his claim as a starter ahead of the 2026 World Cup.
It would be a surprise if the Villa man does not add to his international caps on Monday when Latvia come to Wembley.
He has impressed the Villa Park faithful on a regular basis, making over 220 appearances for the B6 outfit but now he can show the nation and perhaps the world that he is a world-class defender.
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