Abraham called up – a look at the Chelsea forwards who have played for England

Tammy Abraham has been named in Gareth Southgate’s England squad for the upcoming Euro 2020 qualifiers against the Czech Republic and Bulgaria.

The 22-year-old, looking to make his competitive debut for the Three Lions, is the ninth Chelsea forward to play for England in the post-war era, but only the second in the last 30 years.

Here the PA news agency takes a look at those who have combined Chelsea and England duties.

Tommy Lawton

Tommy Lawton in action
Tommy Lawton in action

Lawton was prolific for England while an Everton player before the war, and picked up where he left off once he had signed for Chelsea in 1945. In 11 appearances between 1946 and 1947, Lawton scored 12 goals and helped England to win the British Home Championship in 1947.

Roy Bentley

Soccer – Scotland v England – Hampden Park
Soccer – Scotland v England – Hampden Park

Bentley, Chelsea’s fifth-highest goalscorer with 152 goals in 367 appearances between 1947 and 1957, was part of the England set-up over seven years. During that time, he scored nine goals in 12 appearances for his country, and played at the 1950 World Cup in Brazil.

Jimmy Greaves

Soccer – League Division One – Chelsea Photocall – Jimmy Greaves
Soccer – League Division One – Chelsea Photocall – Jimmy Greaves

England’s fourth highest-goalscorer made most of his international appearances as a Tottenham player but he began his career with Chelsea. Fifteen of his 57 appearances, and 16 of his 44 goals, came while he was earning his living at Stamford Bridge.

Bobby Tambling

Soccer – Football League Division One – Chelsea Photocall
Soccer – Football League Division One – Chelsea Photocall

Tambling was Chelsea’s record goalscorer for 47 years until Frank Lampard took over, scoring 202 goals in 370 appearances. But he was only ever on the fringes of the England team, making three appearances between 1962 and 1966, with a goal against France in a 5-2 defeat in 1963.

Barry Bridges

Soccer – Football League Division One – Chelsea Photocall
Soccer – Football League Division One – Chelsea Photocall

Bridges, who was snapped up by Chelsea as a schoolboy, broke into the England team in 1965, scoring one goal in four appearances. He was on the long list for the 1966 World Cup squad but, having missed out, he never played for his country again.

Peter Osgood

Soccer – League Cup Final Build-Up – Chelsea – Vidal Sassoon, Belgravia, London
Soccer – League Cup Final Build-Up – Chelsea – Vidal Sassoon, Belgravia, London

During a decade-long career at Chelsea during which he scored over 100 league goals, Osgood made only a handful of England appearances, with his playboy lifestyle said to concern manager Alf Ramsey. It would not have helped that when he did get his opportunity, Osgood failed to find the back of the net in any of his four appearances.

Kerry Dixon

Soccer – League Division One – Chelsea v Manchester United
Soccer – League Division One – Chelsea v Manchester United

After signing from Reading in 1983, Dixon went on to become Chelsea’s third-highest goalscorer with a tally of 193 goals. Two years in to his Stamford Bridge stay he earned his first England call-up and was then selected for the 1986 World Cup. But with Gary Lineker and Peter Beardsley also in the squad, Dixon found it hard to break into the England set-up and made only eight appearances, scoring four goals.

Daniel Sturridge

Soccer – Under 21 International Friendly – England v Uzbekistan – Ashton Gate
Soccer – Under 21 International Friendly – England v Uzbekistan – Ashton Gate

When Sturridge got his first England call in 2011, he was the first Chelsea striker to be selected for 25 years. Four of his 26 England appearances came while a Chelsea player, but none of his eight England goals were in that period.

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