Best England XI of all time

England men's national football team is the joint oldest national team in football and has competed in many prestigious championships and leagues. Many footballers whose names are among the greats, have served England as their national team so without a doubt, we can consider England as one of the best national teams in the football world. Unfortunately, England doesn't have many major trophies under their belt, as the only major championship they have is the 1966 World Cup. However, there is nothing to hold against them because there aren't many national teams that have had the longevity thatThe Three Lions  had through the years.

Here, we want to list the best team of England and reveal those who we think are the England best 11 of all time.

England Best XI of All Time

Sadly, there are a lot of great footballers in England's history that we left out because of the limitation. Nonetheless, here is the list! Tune in and enjoy.

Gordon Banks(Goalkeeper)

The instinctive Sheffield-born goalkeeper, Gordon Banks played for England throughout the early 60s and 70s. At club level, he started his senior career in 1958 and ended it in 1978. He mostly played for English clubs such as Chesterfield, Leicester City, and Stoke City but had short spells in American sides such as Fort Lauderdale Strikers as well.He won 73 caps for England and was a part of the team's squad in two World Cups and one Euro. In fact, he started every game of the nation's 1966 World Cup win.

His international debut for The Three Lions came on 6 April 1963 against Scotland at Wembley stadium. Then, he was picked to play in England v Rest of the World, which was a match in which England played against a selected team from all players around the world.

Then he established himself as England's first-choice goalkeeper and went on and won the 1966 World Cup with them. Then came the Euro 1968 as his next major competition with England which England finished third.Banks was in the team's 1970 World Cup squad as well in which England didn't win but Banks showcased a career-defining when he saved an impossibly catchable header by Pele in a game with Brazil.Gordon banks was a consistent, excellent goalkeeper, who possessed significant physical strength and great shot-stopping abilities.

Bobby Moore(Center-back)

One of the two center-back positions among the

Best England XI of all time

belongs to Bobby Moore, one of the best defenders of all time. He was given an OBE in the New Year Honours List, respected and praised by many and the football legend Pele named him as the greatest defender that he had ever played against.

At the club level, he spent most of his career with West Ham and is often regarded as the best player of the club. Moore made over 600 appearances with them. He also had spells in clubs such as Fulham,Herning Fremad and Carolina Lightnin.With England, he played 108 games within 11 years. He served his national team as a captain from  1964 when he was 23 and it's worth mentioning that he was the captain when England won the  1966 FIFA World Cup and Moore lifted the trophy.A composed central defender, Moore was best known for his reading of the game and ability to anticipate opposition movements, thereby distancing himself from the image of the hard-tackling, high-jumping defender.

He is known as a national team icon and a bronze statue of him is positioned at the entrance to Wembley Stadium.

 Rio Ferdinand(Center-back)

The other center-back that made it among the England all-time XI is theCamberwell-born defender, Rio Gavin Ferdinand. The fact that he has twice set the record for the most expensive British transfer with £18 million for transferring to Leeds, then £33 million from Leeds to Manchester United, tells about this British footballer. He is considered by many as one of the best English players of all time.Also, he is one of the most decorated English footballers with five league titles to his name and a UEFA Champions League final victory over Chelsea. He played as a center-back, and he has a more elegant, graceful, and continental rather than physical style of defensive play.

At the international level, he was capped 81 times for England, making him England's second most capped black player behind  Ashley Cole.He was present in four consecutive England World Cup squads but he was never made an appearance in Euro.He started his international in 1996 playing for the under 18 team. then he went to the under 20 team and eventually, he began his senior international career in 1997.His intentional spell came to an end in 2011 after serving his national team for about 14 years.

RB: Gary Neville(Right-back)

We have the dedicated defender Gary Neville as the right back in our Best England XI of all time. He played for The Three Lions for over a decade from the mid-90s till the late 00s. He is considered as one of England's greatest right-back and one of the best Premier League full-backs of his generation.He spent all his club career with Manchester United, making 400 appearances only in the domestic competitions. he was the second-longest-serving player of The Red Devils and he is one of the most decorated English and European footballers of all time.

With England, he won 85 caps during 12 years. He participated in two World Cups and two Euros. Neville made his first appearance for England in 1995 when he was picked by Terry Venables for the friendly against Japan. On 23 May 1996, he was joined in the England team by his brother Phil Neville for a match against China.

Neville was an aggressive, tenacious, and hard-tackling player, known for his work rate, professionalism, determination, and consistency as a defender; due to his positional sense, he was also capable of playing as a center-back on occasion.

Ashley Cole(Left-back)

Ashley Cole is the next player in the

greatest England XI ever

who will be positioned as a left-back. Cole is considered by many critics and fellow professional players as one of the best defenders of his generation, and by some, for the better part of his career, as the best left-back in the world. It's also worth mentioning that he was voted England Player of the Year in 2010.  

At club level,  Cole most notably played for Premier League clubs Chelsea and Arsenal but he also had spells in Roma, LA Galaxy, and Derby county. He started his senior club career in 1999 with Arsenal and ended it in 2019 with  Derby county.

He won 107 caps with England, which makes him the most capped English full-back and black footballer. Playing his international career from 2001 to 2014, he participated in 2002, 2006, and 2010 World Cups, as well as Euro 2004 and Euro 2012. 

He is known as a defender who loves to attack. Cole's game incorporates an attacking approach to his play, which supports his teams' forward play. He is also renowned for making timed goal-line clearances and "cutting out danger."He is well deserved to be in the

Best England XI of all time

.

Frank Lampard(Central Midfieder)

Chelsea's current manager Frank James Lampard is the first central midfielder to be mentioned in the Best England XI of all time. Well, it is not a surprise because Lampard is widely acknowledged as one of the greatest midfielders of his generation.

Of course, he is mostly known for playing with Chelsea for over a decade. he is considered to be one of Chelsea's greatest ever player. He made over 400 appearances for The Blues. It's worth mentioning that he also played for West Ham, Man City, and New York City.

Lampard played won 106 caps for England, after making his debut in 1999. He represented his country at three FIFA World Cups – in 2006, 2010, and 2014 – and in Euro 2004, where he was named in the Team of the Tournament. Lampard scored 29 goals for England and was voted England Player of the Year in 2004 and 2005. He is also England's most prolific penalty taker, with nine goals scored from the spot which is another interesting fact about him.

His versatility, stamina, ability to build attacks with his passing, being a hard-working player and many more skills justify his place in the England best 11 of all time.

Steven Gerrard(Central Midfieder)

The Liverpool legend Steven George Gerrard is another central midfielder who is placed in the Best England XI of all time. Many pundits and fans around the world have named him one of the greatest players of his generation.He spent 17 seasons with The Reds, appearing in more than 700 matches with the red jersey and scoring around 190 times. Gerrard won two FA Cups, three League Cups, the UEFA Champions League, UEFA Cup, FA Community Shield, and UEFA Super Cupduring his spell with Liverpool. He also played a year at LA Galaxy before he retires in 2016.

Gerrard is England's fourth-most capped player with 114 caps, scoring 21 goals. He debuted for England in 2000 and went on to play at the UEFA European Championship in 2000, 2004, and 2012 and the FIFA World Cup in 2006, 2010, and 2014. He captained England from  Euro 2012 after he was named in the UEFA Team of the Tournament.

Gerrard was a versatile and well-rounded player and his leadership, striking ability from distance, stamina is the few reasons we put him in the greatest England XI ever.

Bobby Charlton(Central Attacking Midfieder)

The next individual in the

Best England XI of all time

is the former English footballer who is considered one of the greatest players in his generation or even of all time. He was the winner of the Ballon d'Or in 1966 and at his time he had records for the most goals and most appearances for both England and Man United but his both record caps were surpassed. In addition, he received a CBE in 1974.

He joined Man United in his youth in 1953 but his senior career with The Devils began in 1956. He made his first debut in October 1956 against Charlton Athletic. His national team debut came in 1958 and he was selected for the 1958 World Cup but he didn't play in any match of the tournament. Yet, he went on to play three more World Cups, winning one in 1966. He also represented England in the 1968 Euro in which The Three Lions became third. In general, he made 106 appearances for England, netting 49 times.

Stanley Matthews(Right Winger)

Regarded as one of the greatest players of British football, Stanley Matthews played the majority of his career in the right flank. We can't have a Best England XI of all time without him especially considering that no one was as good and effective as he was in the right flank.

Stanley Matthews started playing for the National team by joining England Schoolboys in 1929. In 1934 he joined The Football League XI and at the same time England National team where he had 54 appearances. In 1950, Matthews was added to the World Cup team for the trip to Brazil and played just one game at the World Cup in Brazil, a 1-0 defeat against Spain.

In 1955, when England beat Scotland 7-2, the 40-year-old Matthews created five of the goals. In 1956, Matthews won the first-ever European Footballer of the Year (Balon d'Or) award and in his game against Northern Ireland on 6 October 1956, aged 41 years and 248 days, he became the oldest England player ever to score an international goal. In 1957 at the age of 42 years and 104 days old, Matthews became the oldest player ever to represent England. Who do you think is the next individual in

England all-time XI

? read the rest of the article and find out.

Wayne Rooney(Left Winger)

Wayne Mark Rooney is our choice for the left flank in the Best England XI of all time. Rooney is the record goalscorer for both the England national team and Manchester United. He is broadly acknowledged to be one of the best players of his generation.

At club level, he played for clubs including Everton, Manchester United, D.C. United and Derby county. He appeared in more than 800 games during his club career.

Wayne Rooney was first called up to represent his nation at the international level in 2003 when he was just 17 years old. He waited for 6 matches to score his first goal for England when he managed to do that in a match against Macedonia in September of 2003. Rooney has played 120 matches for his country, scoring 53 goals. He is currently the all-time top goalscorer for England. His last goal for England was scored on 27 June 2016, in a match versus Iceland in UEFA Euro 2016.

As a part of our

England best 11 of all time

, Rooney was a creative, energetic forward who combines technical skill with strength and physicality, while also excelling in the air despite being not that tall.

Alan Shearer(Center Forward)

In our edition of the greatest England XI ever, we have Alan Shearer as our center-forward. He is the Premier League's record goalscorer and is regarded as one of the best of his generation.

Shearer spent all of his club career with English clubs including Southampton, Blackburn Rovers, Newcastle United making over 500 appearances during his 18-year career.Shearer was often styled as a classic English center-forward, owing to his strength, physical stature, heading ability, and strong shot, which enabled him to be a highly prolific goalscorer.

Although Alan Shearer had a rather short international career, where he played 63 matches for his country and scored 30 goals but he was effective in those games as well plus when Shearer is placed as a forward, other forwards who had played for England sort of pale in comparison with him.

So that’s it.The England all-time XI.Hope you enjoyed it.

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