Has the south of England produced more internationals and caps than the north? Which region is a hotbed for talent? Which internationals were born near you? Which stars were born outside England?
Monday 9 September 2024 09:22, UK
Lee Carsley could hand senior debuts to two more London-born players in the upcoming Nations League game against Finland - but is London the hotbed for talent?
Carsley handed London-born Angel Gomes and West Midlands-born Morgan Gibbs-White senior England debuts during the 2-0 win over the Republic of Ireland on Saturday, while London-born duo Noni Madueke and Tino Livramento could earn their debuts against Finland.
Sky Sports looked at the birthplaces of all 1,284 players to have represented England since 1872 to find out whether the capital has produced more internationals and caps than any other region.
England is traditionally split into nine regions, and we divided them into five northern regions and four southern regions for the study.
The north of England has produced more than twice the number of England internationals as the south since 1872. In total, 841 had been born in the northern regions, compared to 399 in the south.
The data shows the North West has produced 295 England internationals, making it the most successful region.
The other northern regions are West Midlands (166), the North East (144), Yorkshire and the Humber (126) and East Midlands (111).
In the south, London has provided 208 internationals, followed by the South East (101), East of England (50) and the South West (41) - a region that has produced only two more players than those born outside England.
Players born in the North West have collected a table-topping 3,231 caps - making the region England's hotbed for talent, followed by London (2,971), Yorkshire and the Humber (1,462), the North East (1,413), West Midlands (1,185) and East Midlands (1,094).
You can use the zoom button on the interactive map below to find which internationals were born in your area...
In total, 39 players were born outside England, including the Channels Islands and Wales (two each) and Scotland (one player) - while the origins of three players could not be verified.
Matt Le Tissier (Guernsey) and Graeme Le Saux (Jersey) were born in the Channel Islands, which are not part of England.
One Scottish-born player has represented England: John Bain made his sole appearance against his native country in 1877.
Two Wrexham-born Welshmen have also pulled on the England shirt, most recently Liverpool defender Rob Jones, who made six appearances for England between 1992 and 1996, while Fred Green made his only appearance against Scotland in 1876.
Marc Guehi is the most recent England debutant born overseas.
*Birthplace data from Sky Sports databases, englandfootballonline.com and englandstats.com
