Joe Gomez

Grassroots club: Ten-em-Bee

A product of Charlton Athletic’s youth academy, south Londonder Joe was playing first team football for the Addicks at the age of 17, as well as becoming a key man for England’s development teams.

After cutting his international teeth with the MU16s, he was part of the Young Lions squad who won the U17 European Championship title in 2014.

His progress from there was rapid, as he was signed by Liverpool and after caps for England MU19s, he quickly ascended into the MU21s in 2015, then managed by Gareth Southgate.

An unfortunate and serious knee injury picked up in an MU21 game with Kazakhstan in Coventry saw him miss most of the 2015-16 campaign, but it didn’t stop Gomez from bouncing back.

A return to first-team action at Anfield followed and he was handed his senior England debut against Germany at Wembley in November 2017, following the Three Lions’ qualification for the 2018 World Cup before he was named man-of-the-match in his second appearance when his defensive display against a Brazil side featuring Neymar caught the eye.

Joe suffered more injury woe though, with an ankle injury ruling him out of the 2018 World Cup, before a fractured leg sustained in late 2019 kept him sidelined for the rest of that campaign.

After returning to full fitness and earning his place back in Jurgen Klopp's team during the 2023-24 campaign, Gomez made his first return to the England squad since November 2020 when he was selected for the games with Brazil and Belgium at Wembley.