International friendlies may mean more to fans than players — just ask Gary Cahill.
The defender took part in a battle between England and France at the Stade de France on Tuesday, in which 10-man France overcame a red card to defeat England, 3-2.
Cahill has been among those criticised for the performance against a France side that spent most of the second half down a man after Raphael Varane was sent off for a professional foul, but he took to Twitter to defend his performance against at least one fan Wednesday.
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After Cahill posted a link to an Instagram post celebrating another season completed, this fan decided to chide the defender by replying: “Recovered from that Paul Pogba pulverizing?”
But Cahill took in stride and replied with: “Ye that end of season friendly.”
In truth, while a competitor wants to win every game, it’s not hard to see Cahill’s point. Coming off a title-winning season with Chelsea, it’s unlikely he’s going to lose much sleep over a performance in a game that did not count for anything in the standings.
On the other hand, England’s weekend draw against Scotland in World Cup qualifying, during which Cahill conceded a free-kick which led to Scotland's opener, may be another matter.