World Cup 2022: 11 footballers from Bolton who played for England

Wanderers have plenty of history with the national side, with the likes of Kevin Davies, Gary Cahill and Michael Ricketts earning call-ups in recent times.

But what about the town of Bolton?

The first England international from Bolton was Kenny Davenport in 1885. The forward scored twice in as many games for his country.

Then came Dan Cunliffe, Albert Shepherd, Ephraim Longworth and Jimmy Seddon. The latter also went on to captain the Whites to the 1929 FA Cup.

David Jack was also called up after scoring in six of Wanderers’ seven games en route to the 1923 final.

Harry Nuttall, who devoted 40 years of his life to the Whites in a range of jobs up to his retirement in 1964, also played on the international stage.

Then came arguably the most famous player from Bolton to represent England, the legendary Nat Lofthouse.

Lofthouse is still up there as one of the Three Lions’ all-time top scorers, finding the net 30 times in 33 caps for his country.

He earned the nickname ‘The Lion of Vienna’ after scoring a brilliant winning goal against Austria in 1952.

Harold Hassall and Jimmy Meadows were also called up in the 1950s, with the most recent England international from Bolton being Jason Wilcox in 1996.

But how do these numbers compare to other cities and major towns across the country?

Players from Bolton have scored 41 goals for England in total, which puts the town sixth on the list above places like Sheffield, Nottingham and Bristol.

The only places that can better this total are London, Birmingham, Newcastle upon Tyne and Manchester.

Moreover, Bolton is joint 13th in terms of the number of England internationals produced and 15th for the total number of caps won.

These figures are quite an achievement considering the size and population of many of the cities on the list.

Data courtesy of Footy Accumulators

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