Chris Waddle believes the Premier League is to blame for England’s failure to perform at major tournaments.
England are on the verge of going out of the World Cup at the group stages for the first time since 1958 following last night’s dismal 2-1 defeat to Uruguay.
Waddle, who was part of the team that reached the semi-finals in 1990, feels the hype surrounding the top flight has papered over the cracks in the national game.
He told BBC 5 Live: “I’ll tell you what the biggest problem is when you think about it all — the Premier League. They have a product which they sell around the world. It’s entertaining but it’s doing our players no good whatsoever.
“This [England] is a Premier League side playing which is meant to be the best League in the world. You’re not telling me all those Uruguayan players would get in many teams around the world, apart from [Luis] Suarez, who was only 75 per cent fit. [Edinson] Cavani, possibly. Apart from that, who else is there?
“We go on banging the drum that we’ve got this and that... do you know what makes the Premier League exciting? Players like Luis Suarez — the foreign players.
Uruguay v England - player ratings
“We hype our players up massively like we always do, say we’ve got this and that.
“Look at their [Uruguay’s] back four. The kid at centre-half [Jose Maria Gimenez] has played two games for Atletico Madrid, he’s not had many caps but they know how to win games.
“The difference between Premier League football and international football is how to win a match.
“It’s not about picking your star players, he plays for Liverpool, he plays for Man United, it’s about getting a balance in the side to get a result and we never, ever do.”
