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The data used in this analysis includes 536 players selected for the England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland teams in the men’s World Cup since 1950.

This includes all players presented to FIFA before each World Cup. In some cases, particularly in the 1950s and 1960s, reserve players did not travel to the tournament.

World Cup squad details and player statistics originally collected from Fjelstul World Cup Database, External It is then checked with sources such as FIFA and national football associations.

Players’ birthplaces are based on where they were born (if known) or raised.

Facts about 2026 team members are taken from past media interviews with players or people associated with them or their environment.

Available player photos are courtesy of Getty Images.

Some players were born abroad but moved to the UK as children, in which case their place of birth is listed as their UK childhood home.

Six players – England’s Owen Hargreaves, Graeme Le Saxe and Tony Dorigo, and Scotland’s Lyndon Dykes, Richard Gough and John Hewey – spent their childhood abroad and were excluded from the analysis.

Reporting by Phil Lake, Yazmina Garcia, Libby Rogers, Deirdre Finnerty, Marie Jackson and Lauren Woodhead. Design by Jess Carr.