Ross Barkley to use Euro 2016 disappointment as England motivation

By Rory O'Callaghan

Image: Ross Barkley believes he should have played for England at Euro 2016

Ross Barkley says Roy Hodgson should have "shown more faith" in him at Euro 2016.

The Everton midfielder was included in Hodgson's final 23-man squad for the tournament in France but failed to make an appearance as England crashed out following a disappointing defeat to minnows Iceland.

Barkley believes he deserved more of a chance with the Three Lions this summer and is determined to use his disappointment as motivation moving forward.

Image: The Everton midfielder was an unused member of Roy Hodgson's squad in France this summer

"I'd played a lot in the qualifiers, scored as many as the midfielders there at the time and was devastated I didn't get any game time," Barkley told The Times.

"Roy could have shown more faith in me.

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"I was working my hardest - doing double sessions - but wasn't playing. I felt I wasn't important to the squad and that's not a nice feeling.

Image: England crashed out of the tournament after losing to Iceland in the last 16

"I'd never like to be in that position again. I'm going to use what happened in the summer to kick me on this season to get to the next level which I believe I'll get to."

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The 22-year-old midfielder has made an impressive start to the season and capped his first match as Everton captain with a superb long-range free-kick against Yeovil Town in the EFL Cup on Tuesday.

Watch Barkley's free-kick in Everton's 4-0 EFL Cup win over Yeovil in midweek

Barkley is expected to be included in Sam Allardyce's first England squad for the upcoming World Cup qualifier against Slovakia on September 4.

And the Everton midfielder says he is relishing the opportunity of working with the former Sunderland boss.

Image: Sam Allardyce is set to name his first England squad for the upcoming World Cup qualifier against Slovakia

"Sam's positive. He's a winner. I played against his Sunderland team. They weren't in the greatest form, were battling relegation, but they were solid and won 3-0," Barkley said.

"You can see he has a winner's mentality and that will be great for England."

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