To celebrate England’s 1,000th international, we look at the 12 players to have represented the Three Lions whilst on Fulham’s books.
Johnny Haynes – 56 caps – 1954-1962
The 739th player to represent England
It comes as little surprise that Fulham’s best ever player is our record caps holder for England. After excelling at schoolboy level, the 19-year-old Haynes was given a first runout for his country against Northern Ireland on October 2nd 1954. “The first selection is a joy and a thrill to any player immensely difficult to put into words. I was to play for England before I was twenty, and the delight I knew then, I think I still know with each succeeding selection for my country,” Haynes said of that match eight years down the line.
Despite scoring one and setting up the other in the 2-0 win in Belfast, Haynes was then dropped from the national side. By 1956, though, he was a regular and went on to represent the Three Lions at the 1958 World Cup. He repeated the feat as captain four years later, and was expected to lead the side into the tournament on home soil in 1966. However, after a car accident on Blackpool promenade he was never selected for international duty again, despite regaining fitness and playing a further 276 matches for Fulham.
22 of Haynes’ caps for England were as captain, which had him in the top-10 longest serving skippers until Wayne Rooney took the armband, which saw him drop to number 11. He also has 18 goals to his name, with two of them coming on what was arguably his most famous hour in an England shirt, the 9-3 victory over Scotland in the Home Championship.
George Cohen – 37 caps – 1964-68
The 825th player to represent England
Unfortunately for George Cohen, he was vying with the legendary Jimmy Armfield for the right-back spot in the England team, which meant he wasn’t given a debut until May 1964. However, with Armfield then suffering an injury, Cohen was given a window of opportunity which he took with both hands.
He firmly established himself as Alf Ramsey’s first choice, even when Armfield returned to fitness, and subsequently played in every match as the Three Lions won the World Cup for the first time in 1966. He was part of a defence that conceded just three goals all tournament, and there is a famous photograph after the Quarter-Final win over Argentina that sees Ramsey intervening as Cohen tried to give his shirt to an opposition player, as the manager was raging at the Argentinians perceived dirty tactics in the game.
The Final was Cohen’s 30th cap for his country, but he would feature just seven more times, with Ramsey keen to provide some younger full-backs with an opportunity in the side.
Jim Langley – 3 caps – 1958
The 766th player to represent England
One of Fulham’s most popular players having made 356 appearances for the Club, Jim Langley featured in three matches for England, all arriving in the space of 21 days. After a 4-0 win over Scotland, England then defeated Portugal 2-1 at Wembley in a match that will have been blotted for Langley after he missed a penalty, hitting the post from 12 yards. His final appearance came in a 5-0 defeat by Yugoslavia in May 1958, as he was not selected for the World Cup the following month.
Frank Osborne – 2 caps (as a Fulham player) – 1922-23
The 436th player to represent England
Frank Osborne’s goal scoring exploits at club level saw him become the first Fulham player ever to win an England cap when he was selected to face Northern Ireland in October 1922, and then again versus France a year later. He doubled his cap tally after joining Tottenham Hotspur, and scored a hat-trick (his only international goals) in a 5-3 win over Belgium.
Bobby Zamora – 2 caps – 2010-11
The 1,166th player to represent England
Bobby Zamora is the most recent Fulham player to represent England, following his fantastic form for the Whites. After helping us reach the 2009/10 Europa League Final, Zamora received a phone call from Fabio Capello inviting him to be part of the squad for the World Cup in South Africa. However, having been plagued by an Achilles injury, Zamora did not feel he would do himself or his country justice, and reluctantly refused the call.
Still in Capello’s plans, Zamora was given his debut as half-time substitute in a 2-1 friendly win over Hungary, and nearly marked the occasion with a goal, only to see his long range volley tipped over the bar by Gabor Kiraly. A first start arrived the following year, but despite a promising display in the 1-0 victory over Sweden, Zamora was not picked again.
Zat Knight – 2 caps – 2005
The 1,137th player to represent England
After being a mainstay in the Fulham side that had just secured ninth and 13th place finishes in the previous two Premier League campaigns, Zat Knight was called up to the England squad for a tour of the United States in the summer of 2005.
He made his bow earlier than expected after Sol Campbell sustained an ankle injury in the 2-1 win over the USA, meaning a half-time introduction for the 25-year-old. Looking back, there was a lot of Fulham influence in the friendly, with Kieran Richardson marking his England debut by scoring twice past Kasey Keller, the first from a free-kick after Andrew Johnson had been fouled. Carlos Bocanegra and Clint Dempsey then combined to reduce the deficit.
Three days later Knight was named in the starting XI and played the full 90 minutes as Michael Owen’s hat-trick earned a 3-2 victory over Colombia.
Bedford Jezzard – 2 caps – 1954-55
The 732nd player to represent England
A phenomenal goal scorer who netted 155 times in 306 Fulham appearances, Bedford Jezzard can perhaps count himself unfortunate to have only won two caps for his country. The first was something of a disaster as England were humbled 7-1 by Hungary in Budapest. His second and final cap was a much happier affair, playing alongside his teammate and friend Johnny Haynes in a 3-0 Home Championship victory over Northern Ireland.
Jim Taylor – 2 caps – 1951
The 704th player to represent England
The uncapped Jim Taylor was in the England squad at the 1950 World Cup, but didn’t play a minute in Brazil. He did eventually make his debut a year later in a 2-1 victory over Argentina at Wembley, becoming one of England’s oldest debutants at the age of 33. The defender’s international career ended with a 100 per cent record, as he helped England to a 5-2 win over Portugal at Goodison Park 10 days later.
Wayne Bridge – 1 cap (as a Fulham player) – 2006
The 1,114th player to represent England
A bit of a tentative inclusion, Wayne Bridge had spent the second half of the 2005/06 season on loan at Fulham from Chelsea, to regain his fitness after an ankle injury. These sorts of loan agreements tend to run until the end of June, so we’re including Bridge seeing as his England runout in the 6-0 win over Jamaica was at the beginning of that month.
John Arnold – 1 cap – 1933
The 581st player to represent England
One of the only people to have represented England at two sports, John Arnold played cricket for England against New Zealand at Lords in 1931. Two years later the winger was given an international cap in football – a 2-1 defeat by Scotland at Hampden Park.
Albert Barrett – 1 cap – 1930
The 545th player to represent England
Having represented his country at schoolboy and amateur level, Albert Barrett was given his sole full international cap in a 3-0 victory over Ireland in 1930, a feat all the more impressive considering Fulham were a third tier side at the time.
Len Oliver – 1 cap – 1929
The 544th player to represent England
Len Oliver made a staggering 434 appearances for Fulham – putting him at number seven in our all-time list – but was selected just once for England. Like his teammate Albert Barrett, he was playing in the Third Division when his country came calling – a 5-1 win over Belgium in Brussels.
There are several players who have been called up for England without winning a cap, with Marcus Bettinelli, David Stockdale, Jimmy Bullard and Sean Davis all springing to mind in recent memory.