10 Footballers You Totally Forgot Played For England

International football can be a bit hit and miss when it comes to England. After years of high expectations and low results, Gareth Southgate has actually given fans reason to be optimistic about the future. However, it is hard to get excited about games against Bulgaria and Kosovo breaking up the Premier League just as we were getting in the swing of things.

Yet while fans may struggle for enthusiasm, there should be no greater achievement and pride in professional football than representing your country, regardless of the situation.

Gareth Southgate has recently announced his 23 players for England's next two Euro 2020 qualifying games, and has included newcomers Tyrone Mings and Aaron Wan-Bissaka in the squad. Obviously, this is a great achievement for these players, but can they maintain their position amongst the best in the country? Will anyone even remember their time in an England shirt in two or three years?

The history of the national side is littered with names that made the cut once but never again, falling from the memory of England fans everywhere. You may not remember it, but these ten players actually played for England once upon a time.

So far in his career, Dominic Solanke has enjoyed a much more successful career at international rather than club level. After rising through the ranks of Chelsea's youth academy, Solanke failed to make a single Premier League appearance for the Blues before being released after the 2016-17 season. As part of England's squad for the Under-17 World Cup in 2017, the striker flew out to South Korea a free agent, and was actually signed by Liverpool during the tournament.

Eager to impress his new club, Solanke scored four goals throughout the competition, earning himself not only a winner's medal, but also the Golden Ball, recognising him as the best player in the tournament. Just a few months later, the then Liverpool striker made his debut for the England first team, appearing as a late substitution against Brazil.

Struggles with his club form however have prevented the former Chelsea man from being called up by Gareth Southgate any more times. Since leaving Chelsea, Solanke has appeared 34 times for Liverpool and Bournemouth, scoring just one goal.

The 21 year old has more recently been part of the under 21 set-up, making one appearance in the European Championships in 2019. Since Solanke is still so young, there is plenty of time for him to earn more England caps, but with so many talented English forwards to choose from, he will have to do something special to stand out ahead of the rest.