Aston Villa fans won’t be surprised one bit by what Ezri Konsa produced for England against Switzerland on Saturday at Euro 2024.
With Marc Guehi suspended, Gareth Southgate handed the Aston Villa star his first major tournament start and he didn’t disappoint.
You might as well have put an Aston Villa shirt on Ezri Konsa because he was at home, doing his defensive duties, winning his battles and showing the world what he is all about.
Many Villa fans have been left surprised that it has taken this long for the ice-cool centre-back to represent his country, but his timing couldn’t have been better.
England booked their semi-final ticket to Euro 2024 after a nail-biting penalty shootout victory over Switzerland.
As mentioned above, Konsa started the game and he could argue that he was his side’s best player in the first half because it was a defensive masterclass from the player.
As Declan Rice pointed out, it was ‘flawless’ and it was the Champions League-bound Villa star at his very best.
Southgate handed Konsa 78 minutes, before he changed formation and brought on Cole Palmer, who was one of five players to score his penalty.
As you can imagine, Konsa, who played on the left side of a back three, was delighted after the game with his performance and he expressed that on Instagram.
In the comments section of his IG post, he was lauded and applauded by his teammates.
Ezri Konsa helps England reach the semi-finals of Euro 2024
Leon Bailey told his club teammate: ‘Everything takes time, my bro. Happy for you’. Emi Martinez reacted with fire emojis and Jude Bellingham posted ‘big’.
Arsenal duo Rice and Bukayo Saka called Konsa ‘flawless’ and a ‘playa’, with Morgan Rogers asking ‘who’s on the menu next?’
Matty Cash applauded his fellow teammate, Cole Palmer called him ‘top’ and Carney Chukwuemeka told him ‘proud of you’.
Ezri Konsa now getting the praise that he deserves
The thing is, every Villa fan will tell you that this performance from Konsa has been the norm, not just during the recently concluded season, but for the last four or five years.
Since Villa returned to the big time, you could argue that Konsa has been the club’s best-performing and most consistent defender.
READ MORE: England’s Ezri Konsa names Aston Villa teammate in top three defenders of all time
Yes, Tyrone Mings deserved his England caps because he was fantastic for the Midlands side.
But given that Southgate was always looking in this direction and never picking Konsa, it was always baffling because he is an outstanding defender who is now getting the recognition he very much deserves.
You are just hoping Ollie Watkins can earn some much-deserved minutes because he was an unused sub once again.
