Football is an amazing game because it allows players of different sizes to compete against one another.
In the lower tiers of the EFL, where the ball is in the air almost as much as it is on the ground, being tall can be a very desirable attribute to some managers which has led to some real giants playing in English football.
This list will outline the 10 tallest players in EFL history. To give a sense of just how tall these players are, Jannik Vestergaard is an entire inch away from being in the top 10 and Erling Haaland is more than 10 centimetres shorter than some of these players. Peter Crouch and Dan Burn have also failed to make the list.
The only eligibility criteria is that the player must have made a competitive appearance for his EFL side.
10. Hugo Rodrigues – 6’8 (2.03m)
The giant Portuguese centre-back played for Yeovil Town in the 2003/4 season as they finished eighth in League Two and went on a memorable FA Cup run that saw them play Liverpool at Huish Park.
Rodrigues played in the game against Liverpool, giving away a penalty after fouling Harry Kewell.
He left the Glovers after one season in England, with the departure of teammate Dani Rodrigues, who was also Portuguese, reported to have influenced his decision.
The giant defender never played professionally in Portugal and in a 2008 interview said that he was working in a bank and playing football part-time.
9. Matthew Casey – 6’8 (2.03m)
The second inclusion on this list is another centre-back, Matthew Casey.
Casey came through the youth system at Portsmouth, making three appearances for Pompey in the 2018/19 EFL Trophy before dropping into non-league.
The Southampton-born defender went on loan with the likes of Weymouth, Gosport Borough and Havant and Waterlooville before being released by Portsmouth in the summer of 2020.
It is unclear whether the Englishman is still playing in non-league.
8. Aaron Chapman – 6’8 (2.03 m)
The six-foot-eight-inch goalkeeper carved out a very established career across the EFL and Scotland.
Chapman started his career with non-league Belper Town before moving to Chesterfield in 2013. Whilst contracted to the Spireites, he went out on loan to Chester, Accrington Stanley and Bristol Rovers.
The goalkeeper never made an appearance in Derbyshire before he was released in 2016.
He returned to Accrington Stanley in the summer, initially acting as the backup goalkeeper in the 2016/17 season. Chapman became the first-choice goalkeeper the following campaign, keeping an excellent 18 clean sheets as Accrington won League Two.
This earned him a move to Peterborough United, where he played 32 games in League One during the 2018/19 campaign.
The Englishman spent the rest of his career bouncing between clubs as a backup goalkeeper. Spalding United, who are in the seventh tier of English football, paid a fee to sign Chapman in January 2025.
7. Costel Pantilimon – 6’8 (2.03m)
A player who will be very familiar to fans of the Premier League, Pantilimon made 57 appearances in the Championship for Nottingham Forest in the final seasons of his career.
He played 114 games for FC Timisoara in Romania before moving to England with Manchester City.
The Romanian served as a backup to Joe Hart for three seasons, making 29 appearances for the Cityzens before joining Sunderland.
He made 49 appearances for the Black Cats across two seasons before spending a few years as a second-choice at Watford and Deportivo La Coruna.
Pantilimon spent the second half of the 17/18 season on loan at Forest before signing permanently in the summer of 2018. He made 44 appearances for the Reds in the 18/19 campaign before going on loan to Omonia Nicosia and mutually terminating his contract.
He finished his senior career with Denizlispor in Turkey.
6. Jason Mooney – 6’9 (2.05m)
Next on this list is Northern Irish goalkeeper Jason Mooney, who has played in the EFL, Northern Ireland and in continental competition.
Mooney started his career in semi-professional football in Northern Ireland before signing for Wycombe Wanderers in the summer of 2011.
After spending the 2011/12 season on loan in the Southern League Premier Division, where he impressed for Oxford City as they won promotion, he signed for Tranmere Rovers.
The tall goalkeeper made four appearances in two seasons at the Rovers, three of which came in League One before he moved to York City in the summer of 2014.
He made five appearances for the Minstermen, either side of a loan move to Alfreton Town.
His most successful season in English football came in the 2015/16 season, where the Belfast-born man made 26 league appearances for Accrington Stanley.
Mooney then returned to Northern Ireland with the likes of Cliftonville and Ards FC before seemingly retiring.
5. Lucas Bergstrom – 6’9 (2.05m)
Many players on this list are entering the twilight of their careers or have already retired, but Lucas Bergstrom’s football career is only just starting.
After spending time in the youth teams at PIF and TIPS in his native Finland, the 22-year-old was signed by Chelsea.
The goalkeeper made numerous appearances for Chelsea’s notoriously successful youth team, playing twice in the UEFA Youth League.
He went to Peterborough United on loan at the start of the 2022/23 season, keeping eight clean sheets in 28 appearances before being recalled by Chelsea.
The Finland international has spent a considerable amount of time sitting on Chelsea’s bench in the Premier League and Champions League.
His last loan was to IF Brommapojkarna in the first half of 2024 and he has since been released by the Blues.
4. Tomas Holy – 6’9 (2.06m)
Standing at just one centimetre taller than Bergstrom, Tomas Holy is the fourth-tallest player to have ever played in the EFL.
The giant Czech started his career with Sparta Prague, playing 12 times for the club’s B-team before going out on loan to a number of other sides in the Czech Republic.
He first came to England in January 2017, when he joined Gillingham on a two-and-a-half-year deal. Holy endured a pretty tough start to life in the EFL, conceding 12 goals in his first six games for the Gills.
The 17/18 season was much better for the former Czech Republic under-18 international. He featured in all but one league game for Gillingham, keeping 10 clean sheets in the third tier of English football.
The now 33-year-old retained his spot as first-choice goalkeeper the following campaign, playing every league minute and keeping 11 clean sheets.
Upon the expiry of his contract with the Gills, Holy joined Ipswich Town on a two-year deal.
After 21 league games in his first season with the Tractor Boys, the goalkeeper played 36 league games and kept a stunning 16 clean sheets in the 20/21 season, finishing in second place in the club’s Player of the Year vote and in fifth place for the League One Golden Glove.
He lost his place in the Ipswich team the following campaign, going out on loan to Cambridge United and Port Vale before leaving the club.
An impressive 22/23 season at Carlisle United saw Holy play every league game and keep 20 clean sheets as they were promoted to the third tier.
He made 17 appearances for the Cumbrians at the start of the following campaign before moving back to the Czech Republic, where he still plays today.
3. Kyle Hudlin – 6’9 (2.06m)
Kyle Hudlin is the tallest outfield player in the history of the EFL, and one of just three outfield players on this list, standing at six feet and nine inches tall.
He started his career in non-league before joining Solihull Moors in the National League.
His first season in the fifth tier was relatively fruitful as the striker scored nine times in 34 league appearances for the Moors, leading to Manchester City reportedly sending scouts to watch him.
Hudlin was out of favour and hampered by injuries in the 21/22 season, but he managed to score 4 times in 23 games and once more in the playoffs.
This earned him a move to Huddersfield Town in the summer of 2022. The lanky striker made 10 appearances for the Terriers, nine of which came in the Championship, scoring one goal.
He spent most of his time in Yorkshire out on loan. His first loan was to AFC Wimbledon, where he failed to find the net in 13 league appearances, but scored four times in four games in the EFL Trophy.
He then had five goalless games with Burton Albion in the second half of the 22/23 season after Huddersfield initially tried to integrate him into the first team.
The 24/25 campaign saw him join Newport County on loan. He scored six times in 27 league appearances for the Welsh-based side.
He left Huddersfield by mutual consent at the start of the summer of 2025.
2. Martin Brennan – 6’10 (2.08m)
The second-tallest player in EFL history is Martin Brennan, who played once in the EFL Trophy for Cambridge United in the 2002/3 season.
He was in the youth system at Charlton Athletic before moving to Cambridge.
He went on to have brief spells at Welling United, Stevenage and Dagenham and Redbridge before retiring from football in 2005.
The Englishman has spent much of his subsequent time as a goalkeeping coach. He spent over three years working with Tottenham Hotspur’s under-18’s before moving to Wycombe, where he spent four years as a first-team goalkeeping coach.
He then held a number of goalkeeping-related roles with Fulham between 2012 and 2016, working with Slavisa Jokanovic for a period of time.
Brennan subsequently moved to Leyton Orient, Hampton and Richmond Borough and Boreham Wood, where he left in 2020.
He now runs a youth goalkeeping academy called ‘The Nationals.’
1. Simon Bloch Jorgensen – 6’10 (2.10m)
The tallest footballer in EFL history, standing two centimetres taller than the next tallest player, is Simon Bloch Jorgensen.
The German-born goalkeeper, who grew up in Denmark and has Danish citizenship, spent time in the youth team at FC Copenhagen before moving to B.93 in the Danish second division.
He then went on to play for B.1908 and Frem in the Danish lower leagues before inexplicably making one appearance for Waltham Forest in the Essex Senior League.
After a short spell back in Denmark with Brønshøj, Bloch Jorgensen signed his only professional contract in England with Accrington Stanley.
He made one appearance for the Reds in the EFL cup as he was the backup goalkeeper to Aaron Chapman, who is eighth on this list, as Accrington won League Two.
After his short term-deal with the Reds expired, the Danish giant has had brief spells at Whitehawk, Dulwich Hamlet and Waltham Abbey.
A bad knee injury curtailed his playing career, but he has been studying for his UEFA B license and managing Sandhurst Town in the last 12 months.
