Gareth Southgate understands why Wilfried Zaha turned back on England career

Gareth Southgate “completely understands” Wilfried Zaha’s decision to snub England and represent Ivory Coast instead.

The Crystal Palace winger will come up against the Three Lions at Wembley on Tuesday night as the two nations meet for the first time.

Zaha, 29, was capped twice by England – making his debut in the same match as Raheem Sterling in 2012 – but as both appearances were in friendly fixtures he was still eligible to switch allegiance to the country of his birth.

Having not been capped in a competitive game, Zaha made the call to play for Ivory Coast in 2016, with Southgate failing to persuade him otherwise, and he has gone on to collect 26 caps, playing at three Africa Cup of Nations.

Now he is set to face England, with Southgate setting the record straight about the situation surrounding Zaha’s decision.

“Wilf is a very good player and when we had him with the under-21s he was in the middle of a very difficult spell both with Manchester United and then on loan with Cardiff,” he said.

“I remember going to a hotel, Palace were playing away, and meeting with Wilf but at that point he had made his mind up. I can understand it because he had been four years without playing.

“I remember being asked at the time and we were asked about a few different cases and I said players have to have the desire to play for England.

“That was slightly tweaked a bit I would say so that created a little bit of an atmosphere with Wilf and (Palace chairman) Steve Parish for a while. That wasn’t an insinuation on Wilf – you couldn’t have a more passionate player as anyone who follows Crystal Palace knows. I am really pleased for him.”

Zaha has continued to enjoy a fine run of form at Palace in recent seasons and has developed into a