The England men who have played most under Gareth Southgate

Gareth Southgate appears wholly reluctant to move on from some of these players, with only one missing from the latest squad and that’s due to injury…

10) Eric Dier (2696 minutes)
Marcus Rashford has made more appearances (37 to Rashford’s 48) but the nature of being a central midfielder/defensive midfielder (almost all his caps pre-Covid came as the latter) is that you tend to start and finish more games than wingers that drift in and out of form and are susceptible to a 60-minute substitution. That said, Dier lost his place in the England squad ahead of Euro 2020 and only regained it in September 2022 when it looked very much like even he might be a better option than Harry Maguire. He was not.

The famous F365 Euro 2024 England ladder: Record-breaking Kane back on top, Saka climbs

9) Jordan Henderson (3091 minutes)
He’s had periods out of the starting XI and even out of the England squad but Gareth Southgate has always turned back towards the Liverpool captain like a lovely red comfort blanket. And you absolutely understand why when you see the performances he produced at the World Cup against Senegal and France (until his legs could literally move no more). Also, seems an absolutely lovely bloke and has performed the Big Brother role impeccably. And by that we mean providing guidance, not watching their every move. Has he got a seventh international tournament in him? Don’t bet against him.

8) Kieran Trippier (3094 minutes)
Whether at right-back, left-back, right wing-back or left wing-back, Trippier has largely been a mainstay of Southgate’s England. With Reece James and Trent Alexander-Arnold much younger men, it was thought Trippier might be phased out but Southgate still does not trust the Liverpool defender. Though it was telling that the older Kyle Walker – by four months – was preferred as soon as he was even vaguely fit in Qatar.

7) Declan Rice (3350 minutes)
The only player on this list under the age of 27 and the only one not at the 2018 World Cup, where a midfield trio of Henderson, Dele Alli and Jesse Lingard sent Southgate cap in hand to the not-very-Irish Irish international midfielder. It took some time for most but Southgate to be convinced of his worth but by the time Euro 2020 belatedly came around, he was integral to the way England play. The only real problem now is that there is no back-up. So don’t get broken, Declan.

6) Raheem Sterling (4196 minutes)
A big old leap to the Big Old Six there, with…