England’s one cap wonders: seven players you forgot played for Three Lions - including £10,000 bet ‘keeper

Wearing that famous England jersey, the Three Lions on your chest and belting out God Save The King (or Queen as it may have been for some). Playing for the national team, the ultimate honour.

The dream of every professional footballer really, isn't it? To turn out for just one minute and represent England is what almost every Englishman and woman dreams of. But how many players have only had the opportunity to do it just the once?

There have been many, from Robert Barker in 1872 all the way to Ivan Toney in March of this year, that have donned the Three Lions kit just the one time, but how many of these seven forgotten England internationals do you remember?

Gavin McCann

As sang by many a Sunderland fan back in the early 00s, if anyone can McCann can - and when it came to playing for England, he certainly did. A Stadium of Light crowd favourite, the Blackpool born midfielder formed part of Sven Goran Eriksson's first ever England squad for a 1-0 friendly win over Spain, coming off the bench to replace Paul Scholes at half time.

However, the industrious midfielder was never to be seen again at international level and found himself part of a Sunderland side relegated with just 19 points two years after his England debut. Now the first team coach at Hyde United in the Northern Premier League, McCann also represented Aston Villa and Bolton Wanderers.

David Nugent

Potentially one of the funniest and more memorable of these one cap wonders is that of former Portsmouth striker Nugent, who is the only man on this list to have scored for England - though we imagine Jermain Defoe is still pretty unhappy about it.

Prior to a big money move to Portsmouth, he was handed a call up to England's senior side for the qualifying clash against Andorra in 2007 as a then second tier striker. Scoring just 11 minutes into his debut for England, Nugent holds the record for the shortest Three Lions career of any goalscorer. However, the manner in which he did it still makes us laugh.

With England already 2-0 up thanks to a Steven Gerrard brace, Defoe’s late strike trickled towards the net to treble his team's lead, only for Nugent to run in, full pelt and hammer the ball home from all of about four centimetres. A quick shrug of the shoulders and the striker become an England goalscorer just like that. Hilarious.

Steve Guppy

With England seemingly incapable of creating good left wingers in the late ‘90s to early ‘00s (Scholes on the left wing PTSD), Kevin Keegan decided to hand his former Newcastle United youth team product a run at making the position his own in a 2-1 friendly win over Belgium at the Stadium of Light.

Guppy, who was performing well for Martin O'Neill's Leicester City at the time, was capable of going inside and out and was long overdue at England call up at the time. However, when it came to his big chance, it became quite clear Guppy was probably not the answer for the Three Lions.

Interestingly, he wasn't the only player to make his debut for the national team that day with a young boy named Frank Lampard also turning out in the midfield. I wonder what happened to him?

Chris Sutton

Part of one of the most lethal strike partnerships the Premier League have ever seen, the now motormouth pundit was a Golden Boot winner in 1998, a league title winner in both England and Scotland and is part of the Norwich City Hall of Fame.

So perhaps it is a little bit bizarre that the former Blackburn Rovers striker only played for England once - and even then we had to double check that it happened. As recognisable as Sutton is in the footballing world, trying to recall his time in an England shirt is quite difficult.

However, it did happen back in November 1997 when Glenn Hoddle handed him his one and only England appearance by bringing him off the bench as a 79th minute substitute against Cameron. Shortly afterwards, Sutton found himself relegated to the Three Lions B team - a call up he allegedly refused - and never wore an England shirt at any level ever again.

Michael Ricketts

Quite why it happens, we do not know, but every once in a while an unexpected player at a mid-table club will decide to have a season where everything he touches turns to gold. For Michael Ricketts, that was the 2001/2002 season. For those of you to young to remember it, think Michu but in a Bolton Wanderers shirt circa 2012.

Formerly of Walsall in the second division (League One if you prefer), Ricketts had a goalscoring record of two in 44 in the Midlands before he exploded into life with a lofty 11 in 32 at the turn of the Millennium. A run of form which earned him a £400,000 move to Bolton.

His career best 19 goals for the whites would see them promoted to the Premier League just a year later and, with confidence high, Ricketts continued his goal-scoring exploits in the top tier to earn a first international call-up, making his debut in a friendly against the Netherlands in 2002. Sky is the limit right? Well...not quite.

Following his England debut, Ricketts would slowly slide back down the football pyramid, before retiring while at Tranmere Rovers in 2012.

Mike Phelan

Better known for being terrified by a burst balloon while part of Sir Alex Ferguson's backroom staff at Manchester United and a pretty average Hull City manager, few release Phelan is actually a fully fledged England international, or was at least once.

First called into the England squad for the Rous Cup games against Chile and Scotland, he as forced out of the team due to a hamstring injury and had to wait until 1989 to make his international bow when he played against Italy.

Chris Kirkland

Ah yes, let's save the best story until last. Truth be told, the former Liverpool goalkeeper was a pretty solid stopper that was unfortunately hindered by injuries.

The goalkeeper was part of numerous England squads but never seemed to get his chance between the sticks for whatever reason which left his parents in a state of anticipation every single time due to one of the most famous bets in the history of English football.

However, when his debut did arrive against Greece in the year 2006, it made his Dad close to a whopping £10,000. The backstory of the Kirkland family bet is one of the funniest, and most heartwarming, football tales of all time. The goalkeeper's international bow saw bookmakers write a cheque for thousands to his dad, Eddie, after he placed a £98.10 stake in 1994 that Kirkland, then 13, would play for his country after enrolling in Coventry City's centre of excellence. Superb stuff.