10 Worst England Players in Football History

10 Worst England Players in Football History

This summer marks the 60th anniversary of England’s only ever international tournament victory. The Three Lions will be hoping to end that drought when they travel to North America for this year’s tournament next month.

Their campaign kicks off in just 27 days when they face 2018 finalists Croatia in Arlington, Texas, before two games against Ghana and Panama to complete the group phase. The target for Thomas Tuchel will of course be to reach the Final on July 19 in New Jersey and hopefully come away from it with the Jules Rimet trophy.

The @England squad is announced on Friday morning.
Some of us at @TheAthleticFC have picked ours.
I was tempted to pick Colwill and have concerns over Stones, but here we go...https://t.co/oDipnxuLbC pic.twitter.com/VxkSFQVPeD

— Rob Tanner (@RobTannerLCFC) May 20, 2026

Tuchel is set to name his squad for the trip to America this coming Friday and there will be many players hoping for a space on the plane. Over the years, there have been a lot of players to have been capped for England (1,297 to be precise) and some of these have not quite lived up to the weight of the shirt.

10 Worst England Players in Football History

10. Jon Flanagan (1 Cap)

Jon Flanagan was playing for Liverpool when he was given a call up by Roy Hodgson in 2014. The defender only made a singular appearance for the Three Lions and never earned a future call up. In fact, his career overall didn’t really ever take off as it was probably once assumed it would.

9. Brian Deane (3 Caps)

Brian Deane was a striker who actually scored the opening goal in the new Premier League era in 1992. He played for clubs such as Sheffield United, Leeds United, and Benfica during his career, however somehow never managed to get his hands on a trophy or a goal for the Three Lions despite making three appearances.

8. Scott Carson (4 Caps)

Despite arguably worse goalkeepers wearing the England shirt during their careers, Scott Carson had a torrid time between the sticks for the Three Lions. He had a howler against Croatia in the Euro 2008 qualifiers and after that he never really recovered in terms of being trusted to play for his nation again.

7. Steve Guppy (1 Cap)

Steve Guppy was called up for England in 1999 under Kevin Keegan as he thought he was a “little bit like a left sided David Beckham”. However, it turned out that he didn’t quite live up to that as the former Leicester and Newcastle winger didn’t earn another cap for the Three Lions in the future.

6. Michael Ricketts (1 Cap)

In 2002, Michael Ricketts was called up for the three lions during a season for Bolton Wanderers where he scored 12 Premier League goals. However, his England debut only lasted 45 minutes and that was the last time he put the shirt on in his career. In fact, Ricketts never managed to score double figures again in a season during his career.

5. David Nugent (1 Cap)

In 2007, Steve McClaren called David Nugent up to the England squad despite the striker playing in the second division of English football. It was clear he wasn’t quite good enough to play for the Three Lions and only made an eleven minute substitute appearance in his entire England career. However, he did manage to latch onto a rebound caused by a Jermaine Defoe shot to give him what is probably the greatest minutes-to-goal ratio in international football history.

When Wrighty speaks, you ALWAYS listen 🤣

Was Nugent right to steal that goal, considering it is his one and only England cap and goal? 👇🏽#AD https://t.co/MwYSNSvXdV

— The92Bible (@The92Bible) March 18, 2026

4. Gavin McCann (1 Cap)

Gary McCann was called up to the Three Lions by Sven-Goran Eriksson in 2001 where he made his only appearance against Spain and he didn’t quite live up to expectations. The former Bolton Wanderers midfielder couldn’t take the step from Premier League football to international football as many would have hoped.

3. Andy Gray (1 Cap)

Similarly to Scott Carson, Andy Gray had quite an atrocious debut for England as he missed from just four yards out in a Euro 1992 qualifier against Poland. The Crystal Palace forward was called up a few years after his peak performances for the Eagles and after the huge miss he was never called up again.

2. Jay Bothroyd (1 Cap)

Much like David Nugent, Jay Bothroyd was given his international call up by Fabio Capello whilst playing in the Championship for Cardiff City. Despite scoring 20 goals in all competitions that season, Bothroyd never really played to the level to be getting into the England squad.

1. Francis Jenners (1 Cap)

Francis Jeffers had a lot of potential at a young age and earned himself a move to Arsenal early in his career. Unfortunately he never lived up to his potential and was widely considered as not Premier League quality during his career. This is why his call up to the Three Lions was so surprising, but like Nugent he scored in his only appearance in an England shirt. Astonishing!