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As the Premier League takes a two-week break, we take a look at the five most surprising players to have captained England since 2010.
Since Cuthbert Ottaway first captained England in a friendly against Scotland in 1872, 125 players have had the honour of wearing the armband for their country.
Billy Wright, Bryan Robson, David Beckham and Harry Kane are four notable captains who have led the Three Lions out in major tournaments.
However, the most notable has to be Bobby Moore. The former West Ham United defender is one of only nine players to have made 100+ appearances for England, but more importantly, Moore is the only ever England captain to have brought football home.
Moore lifted the gleaming Jules Rimet Trophy high into the London sky before proceeding to lap the Wembley pitch after Geoff Hurst scored twice in extra-time to complete his hat-trick in a 4-2 win over West Germany in 1966.
Since then, 16 players have captained England at a major tournament and all have failed to secure a trophy. Kane had one hand on the European Championships trophy in the summer, but the outside of the post and two spot-kick saves from Gianluigi Donnarumma cruelly sent the trophy to Rome.
In this article, we take a look at the top five most surprising players to have captained England since 2010.
Fabian Delph
Delph burst onto the scene with Leeds United in the Football League, and after an impressive season in League One, which saw the midfielder named The Whites’ Young Player of the Season and Players’ Player of the Season, several Premier League clubs were interested in the midfielder.
Aston Villa fought off interest from Everton, Manchester City and Spurs to sign Delph, however, two long-term injuries halted his early progression at Villa Park.
The fans favourite helped Villa reach the FA Cup final in 2015, but at the start of the season of the next season, he became a villain in the eyes of the Holte Enders.
Despite releasing a statement saying he would be staying at Villa, Delph signed for Manchester City for an undisclosed fee and went on to win two Premier League titles with them.
As a reward for his performances for Villa, Delph received his senior England debut under Roy Hodgson when he came on a substitute in a 1-0 victory over Norway in 2014.
Delph was included in England’s provisional Euro 2016 squad, however, a groin injury meant he had to wait until the 2018 World Cup to make his major tournament appearance as a Three Lion, which he did so against Panama.
After his importance in the World Cup, Gareth Southgate repaid Delph by naming him captain in a friendly against the USA at Wembley.
Delph’s last England appearance came against Switzerland in the Nations League third-place play-off match in June 2019. The 32-year-old has been named in squads, but due to injuries, he has had to withdraw.
Phil Jagielka
Since the turn of the century, England’s centre backs are amongst the Premier League greats. John Terry, Sol Campbell and Rio Ferdinand, who have 13 Premier League trophies between them, have all captained the side.
For Jagielka, a centre back with close to 400 appearances in the Premier League, featuring for England 40 times is an incredible achievement which started when he replaced Ferdinand at half-time in a match against Trinidad and Tobago in 2008.
Jagielka went on to make 30 starts for England, and after not appearing in the 2012 Euros, despite being in the squad, the defender started two of the Three Lions’ matches at the 2014 World Cup.
A year later, Jagielka made history when he became the first, and to this day the only, Everton player to captain England. Roy Hodgson handed the defender the armband in a European Qualification match against Lithuania as the former Sheffield United man became the 20th oldest ever England captain at 33 years and 56 days.
On Monday, Phil Jagielka will be the first ever Everton player to captain @England from the start of an international. #EFC
— Everton (@Everton) October 11, 2015
Jagielka, who last appeared in an England shirt in 2016, has recently signed for Stoke City where he has started three matches since arriving. The 39-year-old had been a key figure under Wayne Rooney at Derby County, but due to the Rams’ financial struggles, an EFL ruling has stopped them from signing players or offering contracts.
Scott Parker
Of those in this list, Parker’s England career was the shortest. The current Bournemouth manager played 18 times for England and started all four matches at the 2012 European Championships in Poland and Ukraine.
Whilst playing for Charlton Athletic aged 23, Parker was handed his England debut in 2003 when he replaced Rooney in a 3-2 defeat against Denmark at Old Trafford.
However, the midfielder then had to wait three years for his first start before a further five years until his next appearance. Parker was included in Fabio Capello’s 30-man preliminary squad list for the 2010 World Cup but he did not make the 23-man squad.
Following his move to Tottenham Hotspur, Parker’s England career took off. Two weeks after being voted England Player of the Year by supporters, Stuart Pearce, who was stand-in manager for a single game, named Parker as captain in the Three Lions’ 3-2 defeat to the Netherlands in February 2012.
Upon the arrival of Hodgson for the 2012 European Championships, the recently appointed Watford manager chose Gerrard as his captain for the tournament. A year after the tournament, Parker made his final England appearance as a substitute in an 8-0 win over San Marino.
Chris Smalling
After winning the Premier League with Manchester United and being named in the 2011 European under-21 Championship Team of the Tournament, Smalling was handed his England senior debut in a European Qualification match against Bulgaria in 2011.
The now Roma defender, who left United permanently in 2020 after falling out of favour under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, went on to play 31 times for the Three Lions over a six-year spell.
Smalling started one of England’s 2014 World Cup matches and three weeks before starting all four of the Three Lions’ matches at the 2016 European Championships, the defender captained the side in a friendly against Australia at the Stadium of Light.
Smalling has not featured for England since 2017. However, the defender is still only 30 and having established himself as Roma’s most solid defender, an international recall cannot yet be ruled out.
Marcus Rashford
In the essence of déjà vu to his Manchester United debut, Rashford made an instant impact on the international stage when he scored after 138 seconds on his first senior England appearance and in doing so became the youngest player to score on their Three Lions debut at the age of 18 years and 209 days.
Marcus Rashford's debut goal for England pic.twitter.com/wf3RnrgQ94
— United Reserves (@unitedreserves_) May 27, 2016
Despite only being 24, the forward has seen plenty of success for both club and country. Before the age of 20, Rashford had an FA Cup, EFL Cup and Europa League to his name as well as a number of international records.
Alongside his goal-scoring feat, Rashford became the youngest player, aged 18 years and 229 days, to appear at the European Championships in 2016 when he came on as a late substitute against Wales, a record previously held by Rooney.
Prior to the summer’s European Championships, Rashford became the youngest and one of seven BME (Black and Minority Ethnic) players to captain England.
Rashford, who is the latest of England’s 125 captains, was given the armband against Romania and the United number 10 marked the occasion with a goal from the penalty spot to join the 31.2% of England’s captains to have scored whilst wearing the armband.
Rashford was part of the EURO 2020 squad, and in the final, he was specially brought on in the closing stages of extra-time to take a penalty in the shootout. However, like Jadon Sancho and Bukayo Saka, Rashford was unable to convert, and Kane was unable to join Moore in becoming an England captain to lift a major trophy.
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