Danny Mills urges England to follow Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi on internationals
Former England right-back Danny Mills urged England players to emulate Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi by attending every international match, making the comments on 2026-09-23 amid a three-week international break.
Mills voiced his concern after a number of players withdrew before the extended window, a development that prompted questions over commitment to the Three Lions. Cole Palmer is one of the few players who have been dropped from the team, while Declan Rice, Tino Livramento, Kobbie Mainoo, and Marcus Rashford have also said they won’t be going “due to respective injury issues.” Morgan Gibbs-White and James Garner have since been called into the squad as replacements.
The current international window runs for three weeks rather than the usual two, a change that reduces the number of international breaks in the first half of the campaign from three to two, allows national teams to play four games in a single window, and cuts the total number of weeks that club seasons are paused from six to five.
Mills, who used to play right back for England and did so 19 times, said players should not miss internationals and referenced South American teams as examples. “Look at Argentina’s team, look how many caps they get, there’s players with over 100 caps. Brazil are the same, the South American teams have more qualification games, and they just turn up and they play – they don’t miss games.” He is a former England player who was a versatile defender.
Speaking about individual examples, Mills highlighted Cristiano Ronaldo’s availability and linked regular international appearances to building a winning culture. “Look at Cristiano Ronaldo, he may be a bit selfish, but he turns up for internationals and he wants to play. Until we get back to it being such a proud thing to do and wanting to win everything, then it will be impossible to win and create a culture.”
Mills added that consistent selection creates competition for places and that modern players may not appreciate historical successes. “That’s what creates competition for players because they know they might not get back in again. Because we haven’t won anything for so long, the modern day footballer doesn’t understand the importance of what winning a World Cup or Euros is like.”
The article noted Lionel Messi has played 207 times for Argentina over the course of his impressive career. Cristiano Ronaldo is another player who loves and proudly plays for his country; he has said many times that “nothing compares to winning for Portugal.”
In the next few weeks, Thomas Tuchel’s team will play UEFA Nations League games against Spain, Czechia (twice), and Croatia.