Sheffield’s Kyle Walker discusses 2021 retirement U-turn as he draws the curtain on his England career
Kyle Walker retires from international football with more England caps than any other footballer from Sheffield
After 14 years, five major tournaments and a combined total of 96 caps for the England national team, Kyle Walker has announced his decision to step away from international football after an incredible career with the Three Lions where he has established himself as an all-time great.
Walker, who grew up in the Sharrow area of Sheffield, started 87 of the matches he played for England, making him the 10th most capped men's footballer of all time.
The former Blades defender has also represented the country more times than anyone else from Sheffield, with the second highest appearance maker from the Steel City being World Cup winning goalkeeper Gordon Banks with 73 international caps.
Kyle Walker explains decision to retire from international football
In an interview with former Manchester United defender Gary Neville, via The Overlap YouTube channel, Walker said: “I just feel it’s the right time for me to step away from international football. It’s something I’ve completely enjoyed.
“I’ve made it well known to everyone that to be the second black player to reach 100 caps after Ashley Cole would have been a great honour.
“But from the conversations I’ve had it’s probably not going to be. I’ve taken it on the chin and now it’s the time to make the decision to close that chapter and concentrate more on club football.”
Walker admits he’s had difficult conversations about his role in Tuchel’s setup and his place in the team in the run-up to the World Cup, with the likes of Tino Livramento, Reece James and Trent Alexander-Arnold all competing for the right-back spot.
The experienced Burnley defender, who left Manchester City last summer, revealed that he’d actually considered retiring from football nearly five years earlier in 2021 after the double heartbreak of losing both the Champions League and European Championship final in the same summer.
“I was gonna do it (retire) after the Wembley Euros. It was a tough month losing the Champions League final to Chelsea and then losing the Euro final in my home country.
“Me and Gareth (Southgate) had a conversation and I think I was on 48 or 49 caps then. So obviously I’ve carried on but I do think at 35 now I’ve earned the right to call it a day.”
Walker’s retirement comes just three months before the start of the 2026 World Cup. However, the Clarets defender did admit that he’d consider changing his stance if the phone call came asking him to reconsider.
He added: “If the phone call came. Could I turn it down? No. Because I’d have to do what’s right and represent my country. But I feel there’s more than enough cover.”
“Sometimes you have to move aside to let other people have a go.”
When asked about the future of the right-back position, Walker said: “For Reece, I think he’s probably the complete right back that I would say yeah.”
The 35-year-old, who hasn’t featured for Thomas Tuchel’s side since a 3-1 defeat to Senegal in October 2025, admits that while he’d loved to have reached a century of caps, the decision to leave the international game is right for him at this point in his career.
“I had a conversation with him [Tuchel] on the first call up where I didn't get picked and I thought: ‘out of respect, that was really nice of him to do that.” added Walker.
England have a great chance to win the World Cup
While Walker won’t be playing in a sixth major tournament this summer, he does believe the Three Lions are in a great place to finally get over the line.
“We’ve got to be there and in contention to win this tournament and one of the favourites.”
“It’s the pressure that comes with it. Showing up in big moments. But you look at the team now and there’s a lot of players playing for big things whether that’s Premier League titles, won titles, Champions League, and you look at Harry (Kane) now at Bayern Munich playing in big games week in week out for their club.”