While there are a few surprises in the latest England squad announcement that dropped today ahead of the upcoming qualifiers against Italy and Ukraine, there is a common theme that runs throughout Gareth Southgate’s latest selection.
Of the 25-strong squad, 19 started out or have experience of lower-league football. The English football pyramid often gets lauded as the best in the world, and with so many of England’s current crop cutting their teeth in the English Football League, it’s hard to argue with that.
Here are a selection of standout players to make the latest squad who have experience playing in the lower leagues…
Ivan Toney
The latest high-profile lower-league success story to get an England call-up, and by far the player with the most experience in the EFL out of this latest squad is Ivan Toney. Toney, who started his career at Northampton Town and became their youngest player when he debuted at the age of 16, has played at every level of the English football pyramid, and incidentally celebrated his 27th birthday yesterday.
The Englishman shares a similar story to Jamie Vardy. While he differs in as much as he made a couple of Premier League appearances for Newcastle United at the age of 19, he dropped down into the lower leagues and didn’t return until his club Brentford were promoted in the 2020/2021 season when he was 25. Toney really has been there and done it, with permanent or loan spells at a host of EFL mainstays, including Barnsley, Shrewsbury Town, Scunthorpe United, Wigan Athletic and Peterborough, before joining Brentford – his current club.
James Maddison
James Maddison is another player who made a name for himself in the EFL, breaking his way into the first team at childhood club Coventry City, who were in the third tier at the time. After impressing in League 1, Maddison drew admiring glances from Premier League club Norwich City, who signed the youngster in 2016 before immediately loaning him back to Coventry. Maddison made his debut for the Canaries in an EFL cup match against former club Coventry, before the newly relegated club loaned him out to Aberdeen. Maddison was able to gain experience in the Championship, receiving a nomination for EFL Championship Young Player of the Season award. He then signed for Leicester, and the rest is history.
Jude Bellingham
Jude Bellingham, the golden child of long-time Championship club Birmingham City, joined their under 8’s team and developed at a rate of knots. The Stourbridge native played in the under 18’s at the age of 14 and made his debut for the under 23’s at just 15. He continued that trajectory, making his debut for the first team at 16, and made just 41 senior appearances before joining European giants Borussia Dortmund. While he played under 50 games for the club, the Blues retired Bellingham’s squad number to reflect the impact he had on the club throughout his time there. With rumours of a return to the Premier league imminently, and Liverpool just one of the clubs touting his signature, he is a perfect example of a player who has gained valuable experience in the lower rungs of the Football League ladder.
Best of the rest…
Other notables include the goalkeeping trio, who all played at a lower level as they gained experience. Of those, Nick Pope went the lowest, turning out for Isthmian League Premier team Harrow Borough on loan from League One Charlton Athletic. He also appeared in the Conference South for Welling United and the Conference Premier for Cambridge United and Aldershot Town. He began to make his name for York City and Bury in League Two, before a string of appearances in the Championship for Charlton Athletic led to a switch to Premier League club Burnley.
Of the outfield players, Jack Grealish and Harry Kane are the other two standouts who dropped down to learn their trade. The former spent time on loan at Notts County in League One, while England’s #9 was shipped out for spells at boyhood club Leyton Orient, as well as notable switches to Millwall and Leicester City in the Championship.
The other players to have spent time in England outside of the Premier League are comprised of Kieran Trippier, John Stones, Marc Guéhi, Harry Maguire, Ben Chilwell, Kalvin Phillips, Kyle Walker, Jordan Henderson, Mason Mount, Conor Gallagher and Reece James, who was included in the 2018-2019 Championship team of the season and won three club awards, including Player of The Year.
As England continues to be blessed with an influx of young talent and a new golden generation is born, the value of these prized assets gaining experience in men’s football in the lower leagues continues to be seen. While options to break through in England’s top tier may be limited, bar the likes of Phil Foden and Marcus Rashford the vast majority of players in the current England set-up have benefited from exposure to the rough and tumble of the lower tiers.
