Leicester and the England World Cup Squad

So Gareth Southgate is going to name a preliminary squad of 'up to 55 players' this week. If it is that many, surely James Maddison will be included - and James Justin and Harvey Barnes might even sneak in, though they'd be very unlikely to make the final cut.

This gives us a chance to look back at all the Leicester players who have been named in an England World Cup squad - as well as all those who have come anywhere near.

Our First Internationals

Our club had been in existence nearly half a century before we had a player chosen for England.

But then suddenly:

Sid Bishop was chosen in April 1927

Reg Osborne seven months later.

Len Barry six months after that.

Ernie Hine five months after that.

Hugh Adcock seven months after that.

An extraordinary sequence. And the timing was intriguing for another reason. Just as Len Barry became the third on that list, Jules Rimet's idea of a competition for all the nations of the world was given the go ahead. A year later, as Adcock completed the sequence, Uruguay was chosen as the venue for the first 'World Cup'. 

In an alternative history, an England squad packed with Leicester City players sailed across the Atlantic and became the first ever World champions.

But in reality, England and FIFA had fallen out, and we never even entered the competition. Those Leicester players were left only with 'what ifs', though back then, no-one knew that Rimet's tournament would grow into the monster it is today.

This story will be full of 'what ifs'. It's hardly a glorious tale (one shining moment aside), so we'll have a look at all the hypotheticals too.

1930 Uruguay

You might have noticed that Arthur Chandler was not on that list above. He was another Leicester player that would have been in contention for a place in 1930. He was watched by the selectors and kept breaking scoring records, but he was destined never to win a cap.

Had England taken part in that first tournament, they would have traveled across the Atlantic on the same ship as the four European teams that did enter. Another man on the boat was Jules Rimet, with the gleaming trophy in is bag. Three European referees were on board too - and could so easily have been joined by Leicester man Tom Crew. He had refereed the biggest club game in the world that year - the FA Cup Final - and with England then considered the authority on the laws of the game, Crew would have been a leading candidate to take charge of the Final in Uruguay. But with the FA's stance on FIFA, that possibility was ruled out.

In the end, there was one real connection between that first tournament and Leicester City. Sandy Wood, originally from Scotland, played right back for the USA in the tournament, including the 6-1 defeat to Argentina in the semi-final. He later moved to Filbert Street and played over 50 games for us.

1934 Italy / 1938 France

City legend Sep Smith would likely have been in the squad for both of these tournaments, had we entered. He only won one cap, in 1935, but for years he was on the verge of the team, often called up as a reserve. He developed a reputation as the 'nearly man', one newspaper saying he was like the 'fat man who got stuck in the turnstiles', never fully making it inside.

Here's something that has never appeared in any Leicester publication, online or otherwise - a photo of Sep in action for England. it's that first and only cap, in Belfast in October 1935. On the left is Peter Doherty of Ireland, from whose autobiography the picture is taken:

Smith would have been the ideal World Cup squad member, possessing that quality beloved of England managers down the years - versatility. Back then, a selection committee was in charge, each member with his own personal favourites, and as they sat round the table in another interminable conflab, you can imagine Sep, with that ability to cover any number of positions, emerging as the perfect compromise candidate.

It was Italy who won both of those tournaments, with Mussolini, a man who really would have got stuck in the turnstiles, using the triumphs to boost national pride as well as his own massive ego.

1950  Brazil

After the War, England rejoined FIFA, and set their sights on Brazil 1950. What was the prospect for Leicester players? 

In May 1946, England played a 'Victory International' against Switzerland at Stamford Bridge, and selected a half back line that is fascinating from a Leicester perspective:

Billy Wright had guested for Leicester during the War. Neil Frankiln, the Beckenbauer of the 1940s, almost signed for us, and Bert Johnson later built our Ice Kings side with Matt Gillies in the 1960s. 

But these tenuous links aside, we were in the middle of what might be called 'thirty years of hurt' - no City players chosen for England in the almost three decade gap between Sep Smith and Gordon Banks. Don Revie was receiving a lot of plaudits in the late 40s, but he left for Hull City in the autumn of 1949 and wouldn't win a cap until 1954. 

In Brazil, Billy Wright led England out for our first World Cup match, but thanks to the USA we were quickly on our way home.

1954  Switzerland

This was the year we finally won promotion, and it's surprising that Arthur Rowley, with 36 goals that season, didn't even make the provisional squad of 40 for the finals. He continued his good form in the top flight but, like Channy, he never would get a chance for England.

1958  Sweden

Winger Howard Riley became the first Leicester player to play for the England Under-23 side just before the finals, but once again, there were no City players in the squad of 40.

1962  Chile

Gordon Banks was chosen as non-traveling reserve for the finals. He was born in Sheffield, and the keepers who did travel to Chile both played for clubs in that city - Ron Springett at Wednesday and Alan Hodgkinson at United. Centre half Tony Knapp was named in the provisional squad of 40. He'd first been called up in 1960 when he couldn't even get in the Leicester team (Ian King was keeping him out) and he left for Southampton to get first team football. 

1966  England

Finally, on July 11th 1966, a Leicester player played for England at the World Cup. Banks kept a clean sheet against Uruguay, and the only goal he conceded in five matches en route to the Final was a Eusebio penalty in the semi final. 

In his autobiography, Banks tells the story of those Finals in great detail, but strangely absent is detail of saves he made in those first five games - apart from one moment in that semi final. With the score at 2-1, 'I took to the air to tip over a rasper from Coluna that was heading for the roof of my net'. It seems he had very little to do in the other games, which may be why the Goalkeeper of the Tournament award ended up with Lev Yashin.  (The following season, the Kop at Filbert Street would sing 'We all agree, Banksy is better than Yashin'). 

He was busier in the final. Germany's opener from Helmut Haller was a shot he might have saved - Banks said he was unsighted. He had no chance with Wolfgang Weber's equaliser in the last minute of normal time, but he says it should have been disallowed for handball in the scramble that preceded it.

Graham Cross must have been pretty close to joining Banks in the squad. He was chosen several times for the Under 23 team and was spoken of as a candidate for full honours, but in the end he was another nearly man.

Here's Gordon is at his own World Champion celebration - at the Town Hall five days after the final (cutting from Bernie's scrapbook):

1970  Mexico

Banks was still England's Number One, but when he made that famous save from Pele in Mexico he was a Stoke City player, having left Filbert Street in 1967. His replacement Peter Shilton was very close to joining him on the plane - he was fourth choice behind Peter Bonetti and Alex Stepney. He was named in the provisional squad of 28 but not in the final 22. Shilton, never short on confidence, must have been telling himself how different things might have been had it been he rather than Bonetti that was thrown in at the last minute when Banks was taken ill before that infamous quarter final v West Germany.

1974  West Germany

Here's an intriguing hypothetical. Would Frank Worthington have had a chance to shine on the world stage in 1974 if England had made it through? Would those highlight reels have included not just the Cruyff turn and Brazilian banana shots, but also Frank flicking the ball over his head and volleying home? (Of course, thanks partly to Shilton's error against Poland, England hadn't made it through the qualifiers).

It's often assumed that it was only when Alf Ramsey was sacked in May 1974 that the flair players were brought in. Temporary manager Joe Mercer picked Worthington, and Keith Weller too, for those fairly meaningless games in the summer of that year when the eyes of the world were on the finals in Germany. But in fact, Ramsey had selected Worthington for his very last squad - for a friendly game in Portugal. It was only when we drew the FA Cup semi-final against Liverpool, and a replay was scheduled for the same day as the Portugal game, that Frank pulled out of the squad. So he had been on Alf's radar. 

Just like 1930, it was another case of 'if only' for several City players. Here's four of them together - Weller, Whitworth, Shilton and Worthington.

They were the 8th, 9th, 10th and 11th Leicester players to win full England caps. Only Shilton would play in a World Cup Finals - but that was after he left Leicester.

1978  Argentia

Don Revie, the only ex-Leicester man to manage England, botched qualification, and McLintock's Leicester were relegated. The only player who would have been anywhere near a World Cup squad was central defender Steve Sims, who was chosen for an England B tour of the Far East that summer.

1982  Spain

With Keegan unfit, manager Ron Greenwood was looking for someone to give a spark to his competent but dull England team. How about Gary Lineker, aged 20, who'd got 17 goals for Leicester in Division Two that season? No - it was too early for him. Incredibly, the highest scoring Englishman in the top flight after Keegan was 33 year old Frank Worthington, now at Birmingham City. But no - it was too late for him, seven years after his last call up.

1986  Mexico

No Leicester players in the squad but every City fan felt a sense of pride when the boy from Knighton took home the Golden Boot award. Alan Smith had just finished his fourth season at Filbert Street and was looking more and more like an international class striker, but his first cap came only when he left for Arsenal.

1990  Italy

More goals for Lineker, Alan Smith narrowly missing out on the squad (Steve Bull preferred), and Shilton taking his caps total to 125, but with David Pleat's team treading water in Division Two there were no current City players anywhere near a call-up.

1994  USA

Had we made it to the Finals, the only City player who might remotely have been in with a shout was Julian Joachim. But he would have been a long shot of almost Walcottian proportions (see 2006).

1998  France

Emile Heskey had been called up for the England B team five months before the finals, and Martin O'Neill thought he was ready for a full cap. But his debut would come the following season, with Steve Guppy's only cap coming six months after that.

2002  Japan / South Korea

Emile had left for Liverpool, but relegated Leicester did have one World Cup hopeful - keeper Ian Walker. In the end he missed out and blamed that relegation for his omission.

(Personal note - I was there in Shizuoka as we took the lead in the QF against Brazil, with Heskey completely bossing the supposedly world class Roque Junior. It looked for a few glorious moments as though my dreams might come true - my favourite player leading us to World Cup glory. I still blame myself for it all going wrong - just as I said to the guy next to me 'this is easier than the Argentina game - they haven't even had a chance ', Beckham pulled out of a tackle on the halfway line (metatarsal still not recovered) and Brazil broke away and equalised).

2006  Germany

Matt Fryatt had made his debut for England U-19s two years earlier, and was no doubt dreaming of a career trajectory that took him into the full squad and World Cup glory. That may have been in the realm of fairy stories, but it was at this World Cup that the wildest fairy tale of all was spun when Sven called up the completely untried Theo Walcott for the final squad (with predictable consequences). 

2010  South Africa

Not much to say here, unless you want to make a case for Jack Hobbs, who'd been in the England U-19 team at a similar stage to Matt Fryatt four years earlier. Sven enters the fairy story again here, but as the bad guy, telling Hobbs that he could leave Leicester just a few months after he'd been voted Player Of The Year in April 2010 (though in truth Hobbs had lost the form that won him that award).

2014  Brazil

David Nugent was our top scorer but his only England cap had come seven years earlier. Jamie Vardy's first cap would come in 2015, our first England player since Ian Walker. Danny Drinkwater followed a year later. 

2018   Russia

Finally, 52 years after Gordon Banks, and after all those oh-so-nears (and frankly not-so-nears) Leicester had a second and a third player in the England World Cup squad. 

Maguire played in five games, Vardy in one plus three as sub.

Ben Chilwell nearly made it three at one tournament, but his first cap came just a few months later.

2022  Qatar

It looked for a while as though James Justin and Harvey Barnes had a great chance of making it, but now it seems that only Maddison has a realistic chance of making the final 26.

Over to you, Gareth.