Pompey England Eleven

Pompey England Eleven

16 footballers have represented the Three Lions while on the books at Portsmouth Football Club

Formation

David James

England, England’s number one earned 19 caps as a Pompey player (53 in total). Glenn Hoddle gave James his full debut against Mexico in 1997, but he was forced to play understudy to David Seaman during this period. Jamo regained favour during Fabio Capello’s tenure as England boss and kept a couple of clean sheets in the 2010 World Cup in South Africa. 

Glen Johnson

54 caps, two World Cup tournaments and a European Championships is a decent haul for Pompey’s Player of the Season in 2008. His attacking approach was a welcome antidote to predecessor Gary Neville’s stodgy style. A total of 10 of Johnson’s caps came as a Pompey player.

Sol Campbell

Four of Campbell’s 73 England caps were gained as a Pompey player. These came when The Wally with the Brolley (aka Steve McClaren) recalled him for the abortive 2008 Euro qualification campaign. Famously had a goal disallowed against Argentina in the 1998 World Cup.

Jimmy Allen

Poole-born Allen made 132 senior appearances for Pompey between 1930-1934, a period in which he also gained two full England caps. He played his final game for the club in the 1934 FA Cup Final before his sale to Aston Villa for a then sizeable £10,775. The proceeds of which were used to construct the North Stand. 

Jimmy Dickinson

Gentleman Jim is Portsmouth’s most capped England player with 48 full international caps. He represented his country at the 1950 World Cup Finals in Brazil, where he was part of the side infamously beaten by the USA. He also went on to play in all of England’s games in the 1954 Finals.

Len Phillips

Phillips was a talented playmaker and a wizard on the ball, who played an integral part in Pompey’s back-to-back championship winning side. A knee injury picked up while on England duty in 1955 effectively ended Phillips’ footballing career for both club and country. A total of three caps seems scant reward for this bonafide Fratton Park legend.

Jack Froggatt

Alongside Jimmy Scoular and Jimmy Dickinson, Froggatt was one third of the formidable half-back trio which won consecutive first division titles in 1949 and 1950. His club form was rewarded with an international call up and he scored on debut in a 9-2 thumping of Northern Ireland. Jolly Jack won 13 caps in total.

Peter Harris

Local lad Harris is Pompey’s all time leading scorer and was a key player in the club’s Football league title-winning sides of 1949 and 1950. Playing in the same position as Stanley Matthews greatly limited his chances on the international stage. What’s more one of his two caps came in England’s infamous 7-1 drubbing by a Puskas-inspired Hungary.

Dan Cunliffe

Dan Cunliffe was the first Portsmouth player to represent England when he stepped onto the Lansdowne Road turf in Dublin in 1900. The game was won 2-0 but it proved to be his only cap. Clearly a bit of a trailblazer, Cunliffe also went into the record books as the scorer of Pompey’s first ever FA Cup goal (against Blackburn Rovers in a 1-1 draw).

Peter Crouch

Crouchy scored 22 goals in 42 appearances for the national team and travelled to two World Cups. Despite an impressive strike rate, his England legacy will forever be that dodgy robotic dancing. The lanky streak claimed six of his caps while on Pompey’s books. He nudges out Defoe from our team.

Mark Hateley 

The combative Hateley was called up to the full England squad after a fantastic 1983/84 season in Div One for the Blues. His international career was sparked by a trademark headed goal in a 2-0 victory against Brazil in the Maracana. Four of his 32 caps came as a Pompey player.