Patrick Vieira takes swipe at England

Patrick Vieira has claimed that he is surprised by how many England players rule themselves out of the team ahead of major tournaments.

Michael Carrick, Paul Scholes and Peter Crouch are three names who have recently distanced themselves from the national side.

"I'm quite surprised how many times the ­players pull out of the national team," the former France international told The Mirror. "They don't want to go to big ­tournaments. In France every player will fight ­because they want to play for the ­national team."

England meet France in their opening group game of Euro 2012 on Monday, June 11.