For West Ham United star Aaron Cresswell his recent call-up to Gareth Southgate’s England squad has been a real eye-opener.
Aaron Cresswell made his England debut in the draw with Spain
Cresswell was named in Southgate’s latest squad for the World Cup qualifier against Scotland and friendly against France.
The left-back had an up-and-down season for the East Londoners and never truly rediscovered his top form after a four month injury lay-off at the start of the campaign.
West Ham United’s Aaron Cresswell looks dejected
It was a surprise to some that he was named in Southgate’s squad given his indifferent form, but when he was Hammers fans wasted little time in reminding Cresswell to give hated former West Ham teammate and France midfielder Dimitri Payet a rough ride when the two sides meet.
And the Liverpudlian is ready to go to war with Scotland and Payet if pictures from an army training team bonding exercise are anything to go by, even if Cresswell does look a bit stunned.
Cresswell’s former teammate and France star Dimitri Payet
Southgate’s men took part in the army training camp in full soldier gear in an experience described as ‘unforgettable’ by England’s media team as they posted a series of pictures from the event, one of which showed Cresswell looking stunned sat around a camp fire with war paint all over his face.
According to the Daily Mail, Southgate took his players away from St George’s Park after they reported for duty on Friday.
Cresswell and his England teammates had their phones confiscated as part of the training exercise – that doubled up as a team-bonding weekend.
England manager Gareth Southgate
Southgate’s players were given Monday off ahead of their return to St George’s Park on Tuesday.
England face Scotland in Glasgow on Saturday before travelling to France for a friendly next week.
Southgate said of the experience: “We wanted to come and put the guys into a different environment, something they weren’t expecting.
“There were some team objectives around pushing themselves beyond where they thought they could go and knowing you don’t want to let any of your team-mates down.”
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