COOK

has raised the bar to a rarefied height for plotting his international exit strategy so well. And the FA missed a trick with Leicester striker Jamie Vardy, who retired from international football a fortnight ago just before Gareth Southgate named his first post-World Cup squad. The low-key friendly against Switzerland at the King Power Stadium would have attracted a bigger crowd if it had been promoted as Vardy’s last game for England, which would not have required much shift in the player’s international retirement plans. Instead Vardy was just a spectator at his home ground.