Gary Neville was sat on a toilet at the Hawthorns when he knew his playing career was over. Thierry Henry was trying to chase his daughter and realised his body was too painful to catch her when his mind was made.
There are often moments when professional athletes can vividly recall knowing their time was up – and England vs Senegal, 10 June 2025, at the City Ground, should be Kyle Walker’s in an England shirt.
Neville had wanted to call it quits on his decorated career the season before, but Sir Alex Ferguson had asked him to sign on for one more year, and the right-back couldn’t resist. Then his groin went, and his ankle.
He had been out for two months and barely played before the game again West Bromwich Albion. Two starts in the Premier League – one in which he was hooked at half-time. On in the 76th minute against Wolves in the League Cup.
It was half-time on New Year’s Day 2011, Ferguson was in the dressing room trying to rouse the players after an abject first half. And Neville sat on the toilet, wishing it was over, wishing he was at home.
Henry was at home in New York when his daughter ran up to him, touched him and said, “You’re it!” He tried to give chase, but it hurt too much. He was waking up every morning crying in pain, and it had to stop.
Somebody needs to tell Walker he has reached that moment for England. His recovery pace, his cheat code long before it became slang, has left him.
It never mattered that he wasn’t the best positionally. Players could have a 20-yard head start – maybe even 30 – and as they raced through on goal he’d still catch them.
Now it is a weakness. One that will be targeted and exposed.
Walker couldn’t even make up the couple of yards Ismailia Sarr had on him before scoring Senegal’s first goal. That Sarr had a clear penalty area was Walker’s first error, and by the time the full-back realised what was happening he tried to catch up, but the spring wasn’t there.
Walker crashed to the ground, where he lay sprawled.
That wasn’t the only time it was evident in the game. In another instance, Senegal played the diagonal ball behind him — a route they frequented. Diouf was already 10 yards ahead, Walker turned and sprinted. But he was nowhere near. Diouf crossed and had Habib Diarra not skied his shot, England would’ve conceded.
Kyle Walker is cooked.
Indeed, Manchester City fans will tell you this has long been coming, that in his last season at the Etihad at first they were surprised to see him beaten for pace once, then twice, until eventually it wasn’t a surprise.
Pep Guardiola saw it – why can’t Thomas Tuchel?
When Tuchel made his first three changes around the hour mark, you expected Walker’s number to be up, on the fourth official’s board.
England level, Tuchel was calling to the players to come off to speed things up. He shouted to Walker, on the other side of the pitch, and Walker appeared to think he was coming off, possibly relieved someone was going to put him out of his misery.
Instead, Tuchel indicated he wanted Walker to take the captain’s armband from the departing Harry Kane.
Walker shouldn’t be anywhere near the England starting XI come the 2026 World Cup. Maybe, at most, take him in the “Jordan Henderson vibes” role. But not for playing.
Remarkably, this does not appear to be the way Tuchel sees it.
“I see the lack of rhythm and misjudgements in duels and in anticipation,” was the England manager’s assessment after the Senegal game. “Of course I see that. That is also maybe the nature of a June camp and of a player that has not every minute in his legs lately.”
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But, at 35 years old, like Neville, Walker is starting to see those unpreventable injuries creep in. He missed two AC Milan games in February with a hamstring niggle. It is perhaps telling that it was around the same time in the season his hamstring gave way last year for City, and he was out for a month.
He missed three weeks with a broken elbow in April.
Calling time on an England career is a tough decision. Speaking on The Diary of a CEO podcast Henry explained that being an athlete was easier than being a human being, as though they were two separate personalities.
He likened it to the athlete dying, and the human being having to face the problems football masked. “People don’t teach you to die,” he said.
But every player, eventually, has had their day.
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