Ashley Cole - International Career

International Career

Cole has played for England at youth and senior levels. He was capped for the England U-20 team at the 1999 FIFA World Youth Championship alongside Stuart Taylor, Peter Crouch, Andrew Johnson and Matthew Etherington. However, the team finished bottom of their group, suffering three defeats without scoring any goals. He also made four appearances for England under-21s, scoring once.

After just four appearances for the Under-21s, Ashley was fast-tracked into the England senior team and Sven-Goran Eriksson handed Cole his senior England début against Albania, on 28 March 2001. He played for England at the 2002 World Cup, Euro 2004, where he was named as one of four England players in the all-star squad for the tournament and UEFA Euro 2012.

Cole was also an ever-present for England in the 2006 World Cup; in their second round match against Ecuador he made a crucial block, deflecting Carlos Tenorio's shot onto the crossbar. The match ended with England winning 1–0, but England were knocked out on penalties by Portugal in the quarter-finals. By the end of 2008, Cole had achieved 68 caps for England, all of which were starting appearances.

He made his 79th appearance for England on 12 June 2010 in the 1–1 draw against USA in the 2010 World Cup Group stage match. He beat the record of 79 caps by a black English international (John Barnes, who appeared for England from 1983 to 1995) when he played against Algeria later that month. He has played more internationals without scoring than any other outfield player in England history. He won his 86th cap against Montenegro in October 2010, and alongside Kenny Sansom, Cole is now England's most-capped full-back in history, an achievement which helped him pick up the England Player of the Year award for 2010, as voted for by fans. He is now closing in on 100 caps.