Hodgson concedes to Zaha regrets over England snub

Crystal Palace manager Roy Hodgson revealed his regret regret over failing to tie Wilfried Zaha’s international allegiance to England following the winger’s brace against Brighton and Hove Albion.

The Abidjan-born forward made two appearances for England under Hodgson’s ill-fated stewardship before opting for a switch to Ivory Coast in 2016.

He has since blossomed into a key force for Palace, leading the way in the crucial 3-2 victory on Saturday that lifted his side six points clear of the drop zone. 

With three goals in his last two Premier League appearances and seven in total for the season, Hodgson conceded he erred in not ensuring Zaha’s loyalties rested with England. 

“I gave him his [international] debut as a Crystal Palace player, he got a big move to Manchester United so we didn’t follow up on it enough. I would have to say I bear some responsibility there,” said Hodgson.

“To be honest he’d have been more than happy to play for England. I think he was just seduced by the Ivory Coast and part of the seduction was ‘you won’t play a lot of games for England, so sign for us instead’.

“But there are moments in time for footballers. Let’s be fair. At the moment, this season, Wilf has been in superb form. But there were years before, especially the United years, where perhaps he wasn’t the Wilf Zaha you see today.

“Unfortunately national team selectors and football coaches don’t have crystal balls. We can’t be certain.”

2 – In completing his first-ever Premier League brace, Wilfried Zaha netted his first-ever headed goal in the competition. Nod.

— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) April 14, 2018

While Hodgson lauded Zaha and team-mate Ruben Loftus-Cheek, Brighton boss Chris Hughton was left to rue the stoppage-time miss from Glenn Murray that cost his team a point at Selhurst Park.

The experienced striker, who had earlier netted his 12th league goal of the season, somehow turned wide when left unmarked at point-blank range.

“Did I expect him to score? Yes,” said Hughton.

“Probably on most occasions he would have put that away. But more importantly is that he’s there and he’ll always continue to look for that.”