article_content: 
  wilfried zaha has rejected gareth southgate's suggestion that he had imposed a timescale to be selected again by england  effectively holding the national team to ransom  and has defended his right to instead represent the country of his birth  ivory coast. the crystal palace forward  who had been capped by england in friendlies against sweden and scotland during roy hodgson's tenure as manager  was infuriated by southgate's comments in the aftermath of the world cup qualifying victory against lithuania on sunday. zaha issued a statement through his representative  will salthouse of unique sports management  on tuesday and implied disappointment that england's recently appointed permanent manager had made public details of a meeting held with the winger in december.
article_headline: wilfried zaha hits back at southgate's 'timescale' claim over england selection