Top 10 Player To Have Never Played For England

jonjoward1998
May 29, 2025
5 min read

Playing for England is the pinnace for any player's career and whilst many have had the honour of playing for England, there have also been a number of players who never got the chance.

This could be because they were either playing for a lesser side, or there were players who were higher up in the pecking order and it's usually the latter.

Any player can play as well as they can for their club over a number of seasons but despite the performances they put in for their club side, they don't always get the chance to play for England no mater how good they've been.

The players on the list are among those players and here it is:

Troy Deeney

Mark Noble

Glenn Murray

Ben Mee

Lee Cattermole

Kevin Nolan

Marc Albrighton

Jimmy Bullard

Matthew Etherington

Charlie Austin

Glenn Murray

Murray was always going to be in 10th because he never got anywhere near the England squad.

He was talked about for a potential call up when he was at Brighton during their first season in the Premier League, but he was never considered due to Harry Kane and Jamie Vardy being preferred.

He was a good striker on his day in that he was good in the air, could hold the ball up and lead from the front.

He spent most of his years in the Football League and by the time he proved himself as a Premier League striker, he was already in the latter years of his career where very few players earn their first England call up.

Charlie Austin

Austin received one call up for England back in 2015 off the back of a goal laden season with QPR, but he wasn't given the chance to play.

That season was his only good one in the Premier League as he hit 18 goals but couldn't save QPR from relegation.

He got nowhere to another call up after his first one as he had a few injury hit seasons at Southampton, which saw him drop further down the pecking order.

Lee Cattermole

Cattermole did play for England at youth team level, but never got a look in for the senior side.

It was always going to be difficult for him to force his way into the first team because of the calibre of players who were ahead of him like Steven Gerrard, Frank Lampard and Michael Carrick along with a number of others.

He was a player who loved to get stuck in by making many crunching tackles, but he didn't always time them well as he was known for picking up a lot of cards.

He was still a good player as he was a good reader of the game and had the ability to break up play. But he still had a reputation for being a dirty player.

Jimmy Bullard

Bullard is one of the funniest men in football with his most iconic moment being his classic team talk celebration against Man City when he was at Hull.

He was called up three times for England, but he didn't play a single game and it was probably because other players were preferred ahead of him.

England had some strong midfield options at the time in Gerrard, Lampard, Carrick and Barry who were all established members of the squad and miles ahead of Bullard in the pecking order.

Matthew Etherington

Etherington played a handful of games for England at youth team level, but was never able to force his way into the senior side.

He was very much an old fashioned winger in that he ran up and down the touchline, was quick, and could get crosses into the box.

He was that kind of player for both West Ham and Stoke but despite his good performances during his time at both clubs, he was never given the chance to play for England at senior level.

This was probably because of the players who were ahead of him in the pecking order like David Beckham, Joe Cole, Shaun Wright-Phillips and Theo Walcott.

Marc Albrighton

Albrighton played for England at U20 and U21 level, but wasn't able to force his way into the senor squad.

He was part of the Leicester team that won the Premier League in 2016 where he was one of their unsung heroes.

If there was one time he should've been called up, that season was it as England's wingers at the time were not performing at the level they were capable of performing at.

But the role of a winger was changing around that time as they were beginning to turn into wide forwards who coudl cut inside and score goals.

Albrighton wasn't that kind of winger was someone who would run up and down the touchline all game and get crosses into the box.

Ben Mee

Mee has been one of the most underrated central defenders in the Premier League over the last 7-8 years and someone who was constantly overlooked for an England call up.

He was a crucial part of the Burnley side under Sean Dyche who were incredibly tough to beat and an established Premier League side over a good few seasons.

He had to watch both of his centre back partners in Michael Keane and James Tarkowski receive call ups whilst he was getting overlooked.

He did play for England at youth team level, but somehow never got the chance to play for the senior team.

Troy Deeney

Deeney scored in the Premier League 47 times for Watford over a five year spell, but he was never called up for England.

He was talked about for a potential call up after the 2018 World Cup following Jamie Vardy's retirement from international football which left England without a back up for Harry Kane.

But he was never considered despite making a decent start to the following league season with Watford, netting twice in the opening four games.

He was a handful on his day as he was strong, physical, could hold the ball up and score a variety of goals.

Kevin Nolan

Nolan was an all action box-to-box midfielder on his day as he would always get back to help his team out defensively, and break into the box to score goals.

He was that kind of player for every club he played for but despite he goals he scored and the all-round performances he put in, he was never considered for an England call up.

He was in all fairness behind the likes of Gerrard, Lampard, Scholes and later on Carrick in the midfield pecking order and we never going to dislodge any of them due to the calibre of players they were.

But I think he could've had at least one call up and cap to his name because of the kind of player he was.

Mark Noble

Noble spent his entire career at West Ham but didn't receive one England call up despite being such a good player throughout his time at West Ham.

He did play a number of times for the U21's and was part of the side that reached the final of the Euros in 2009. But he wasn't able to force his way into the senior squad.

It was always going to be tough for him to force his way into the squad as he was behind the likes of Gerrard, Lampard, Carrick, and a number of others in the midfield pecking order.

But he still deserved at least one call up and cap for England because of the years of service he gave to West Ham.

I had to have him at no1. because of the career he had and the player he was throughout his time at West Ham.

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