Every player who won his first England cap under Gareth Southgate
Gareth Southgate has been England manager since 2016 and it’s fair to say that things have gone pretty well for him. England were semi-finalists at the 2018 World Cup and they have also secured their place at Euro 2020, which will now be played in 2021, where the Three Lions will be amongst the favourites to win the famous tournament. Southgate has been keen to breed a winning atmosphere with England and has been more than happy to bring in new players, he’s also been ruthless in terms of selections too, leaving out some players who had been mainstays in the team for years. We’ve taken a look back at every player who was handed their England debut by Southgate since he took over.
Jesse Lingard vs Malta - October 2016
Jesse Lingard was the first England debutant to be given a cap by Southgate back in 2016. He was a regular for England for two years but has recently found himself out of the frame.
Aaron Cresswell vs Spain - November 2016
West Ham full-back Aaron Cresswell made his debut as a substitute in the 2-2 draw with Spain in November 2016. He’s played two other games for England since.
Michael Keane vs Germany - March 2017
Michael Keane, then of Burnley now of Everton, was handed his debut against Germany in March 2017.
Nathan Redmond vs Germany - March 2017
Nathan Redmond also made his debut in the same game. As it stands, that’s the only cap he’s earned so far.
James Ward-Prowse vs Germany - March 2017
The third debutant in that Germany game was Redmond’s Southampton teammate James Ward-Prowse. His only other cap so far came against Montenegro.
Kieran Trippier vs France - June 2017
Kieran Trippier made his debut in a 3-2 friendly loss to France in June 2017. He’s been a regular member of the England set-up since and has now moved from Tottenham to Atletico Madrid.
Harry Maguire vs Lithuania - October 2017
Harry Maguire signed for Leicester in June 2017 and a few months later, he was given his England debut. He’s now a regular for his country and is now at Manchester United having moved for around £80m, making him the most expensive defender in the world.
Harry Winks vs Lithuania - October 2017
Tottenham midfielder Harry Winks made his England debut in that same game. Whilst he’s not a regular starter like Maguire, he’s still heavily involved in the England set-up.
Jordan Pickford vs Germany - November 2017
Jordan Pickford made his England debut against Germany in November 2017. He kept a clean sheet and has been England’s number one ever since.
Ruben Loftus-Cheek vs Germany - November 2017
Ruben Loftus-Cheek made his debut in that same game, He was part of England’s World Cup squad but is currently nursing an injury that is keeping him out of action for both club and country.
Tammy Abraham vs Germany - November 2017
Chelsea’s Tammy Abraham, then on loan at Swansea, also made his debut in that game. He had a stint out of the national set-up during his loan spell at Aston Villa but his impressive performances for Chelsea have seen him recalled.
Joe Gomez vs Germany - November 2017
Liverpool’s Joe Gomez also made his debut against the Germans. He’s been involved in the England set-up on a regular basis when fit.
Jack Cork vs Germany - November 2017
Burnley midfielder Jack Cork made his debut in the Germany game too, coming on for just four minutes. That’s the only cap he’s ever earned and it looks unlikely that he’ll be getting any more in the future.
Dominic Solanke vs Brazil - November 2017
Dominic Solanke was handed an England debut against Brazil in November 2017, coming on for 15 minutes. That is still his only cap so far.
James Tarkowski vs Italy - March 2018
Burnley defender James Tarkowski made his England debut in a friendly with Italy in March 2018. He’s had once more cap since then and is hoping to earn more in the future.
Lewis Cook vs Italy - March 2018
Bournemouth’s Lewis Cook made his debut in that same game, coming on as a 71st-minute substitute. That’s his only cap for England so far.
Trent Alexander-Arnold vs Costa Rica - June 2018
Southgate gave Trent Alexander-Arnold his debut in a World Cup warm-up game against Costa Rica and subsequently took the Liverpool star to the World Cup as part of his squad.
Nick Pope vs Costa Rica - June 2018
Burnley goalkeeper Nick Pope made his debut in the same game, coming on as a substitute. He’s a regular in the England set-up but he’s been backing up Pickford.
Ben Chilwell vs Switzerland - September 2018
Leicester’s Ben Chilwell made his debut against Switzerland at the King Power in September 2018, becoming the first England player to make his debut at his club ground since Paul Scholes did so at Old Trafford in 1997. It looks like he has every chance of becoming England’s first-choice left-back.
Jadon Sancho vs Croatia - September 2018
Jadon Sancho made his England debut as a 78th-minute substitute against Croatia in 0-0 Nations League clash.
Nathaniel Chalobah vs Spain - October 2018
Nathaniel Chalobah came on in injury-time against Spain in the Nations League. That remains his only cap so far, with some cynics suggesting that England only picked him to tie him up to prevent him playing for Sierra Leone, the country of his birth.
Callum Wilson vs USA - November 2018
Callum Wilson became the first player given a debut by Southgate to score on his first appearance. He netted in a 3-0 win over America, becoming the first Bournemouth player to score for England.
Lewis Dunk vs USA - November 2018
Brighton defender Lewis Dunk also made his debut in that game, playing the whole match. That remains his only cap so far.
Alex McCarthy vs USA - November 2018
Alex McCarthy, nearly five and a half years after his first England call-up, played 45 minutes against America in that same game. That’s his only cap so far and having lost his place at Southampton, his chances of earning more seem very slim.
Declan Rice vs Czech Republic - March 2019
Declan Rice spent his youth international career playing for Ireland but confirmed his intentions to play for England at senior level. He made his debut against the Czech Republic last year and will almost certainly earn plenty of caps in the future.
Callum Hudson-Odoi vs Czech Republic - March 2019
Callum Hudson-Odoi made his England debut in the same game, becoming the youngest-ever player to make his debut in a competitive match for England, aged 18 years and 135 days. He’s played one more game since but will be back in contention soon enough after coming back from a serious knee injury.
Mason Mount vs Bulgaria - September 2019
After an impressive start to the season, Mason Mount earned his first England cap when he came on as a 67th-minute substitute during England’s 4–0 home win over Bulgaria.
Tyrone Mings vs Bulgaria - October 2019
Tyrone Mings said after his debut in Bulgaria that he wouldn’t let the racist fans in attendance ruin his big day. He started at centre-back alongside Harry Maguire as England hammered Bulgaria 6-0 in Sofia.
James Maddison vs Montenegro - November 2019
James Maddison came on as a second-half substitute as England confirmed their place at Euro 2020 with a thumping 7-0 win over Montenegro at Wembley.
Fikayo Tomori vs Kosovo - November 2019
Fikayo Tomori came on for his debut in the 84th minute as England rounded off their Euro 2020 campaign with a 4-0 win in Kosovo. He replaced Liverpool’s Trent Alexander-Arnold.
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