With all the news flying around about Liverpool FC legend Steven Gerrard's potential move to an MLS club and of course the expected arrival of Frank Lampard this summer, we can't help but be in the mood to eat shepherd's pie, sip a pint of lager, and try to name all the MLS players in league history who ever suited up for England's national team.
There are quite a few who played for the England youth squads and the England B team, but only five earned caps for the full senior squad.
David Beckham, LA Galaxy, 2007-12. The former English national team captain, who finished his international career with 115 caps and 17 goals, arrived in Southern California in mid-2007 and ushered in a new era for MLS. Over five and a half seasons, he made 115 appearances (regular season and playoffs), scored 18 goals, posted 48 assists, and won two MLS Cup trophies.
Jermain Defoe, Toronto FC, 2014-present. Before arriving at BMO Field, where he scored 11 goals in his first season with the Reds, the onetime Tottenham Hotspur ace earned 55 caps and 19 goals for his country. He did not make the 2014 World Cup squad, though, and rumors persist that he could be sold to an EPL club this winter.
Steve Guppy, D.C. United, 2005. A veteran of the English leagues, most notably with Wycombe Wanderers, Port Vale, and Leicester City, Guppy earned a lone cap for England in 1999, against Belgium. He spent one season with United, where he made just five appearances and notched one assist. Later, after retiring, he was an assistant to Gary Smith at the Colorado Rapids, with whom he won the 2010 MLS Cup.
Steve Howey, New England Revolution, 2004. A longtime regular with Newcastle United and other English clubs, Howey came to America with four international caps to his name. He was also a member of England's 1996 Euro Championship squad, but he did not see the field. He joined the Revs midseason, but a quadriceps injury limited him to just three appearances, and he returned home at the end of the year.
Chris Woods, Colorado Rapids, 1996. The starting goalkeeper in the Rapids' first-ever match, Woods arrived in the Rocky Mountains with one of the more impressive CVs in the league. He earned 43 caps for England between 1985 and 1993, and backstopped the Lions at the 1992 Euro Championship. His international debut came against the USMNT in a 1985 friendly in LA. Coincidentally or not, his final cap was also against the US in the infamous 2-0 defeat at the old Foxboro Stadium in 1993. As fate would have it, Woods is currently the goalkeeper coach for the USMNT.
