All five West Brom players to play for England at World Cup as Thomas Tuchel’s men qualify for 2026
England qualified for the 2026 World Cup with a 5-0 victory over Latvia on Tuesday night.
Thomas Tuchel‘s men became the first European side to book their spot in the USA, Canada and Mexico next year with their victory in Riga.
While there are no West Brom players likely to make Tuchel’s squad next year, ex-Baggies academy ace Morgan Rogers is bound to be on the plane.
With England’s qualification sealed, West Brom News has decided to look back at every Albion ace to have represented the Three Lions at the World Cup over the years.
Disclaimer: There are some serious West Brom legends here.
Sir Bobby Robson – Ex-West Brom captain stars in 1958 before injury struck
One of the most-loved figures in English football Sir Bobby Robson was a West Brom player between 1956 and 1962, making 239 appearances and scoring 56 goals for the Albion in between two spells at Fulham.
The Hawthorns legend won 20 caps for England during his playing days, with three of them coming in the 1958 World Cup.
Robson was one of three West Brom players at that World Cup in Sweden. However, he was unable to help the Three Lions qualify from their group, drawing all three regular matches against the Soviet Union, Brazil and Austria before losing a play-off against the Soviets.
Robson, who died in 2009 aged 76, was later called up for the 1962 World Cup in Chile. However, he sustained an ankle injury in a pre-tournament friendly and was ultimately replaced in the squad by future World Cup-winning captain Bobby Moore.
Robson went on to manage England from 1982 to 1990.
Don Howe – West Brom royalty and England mainstay
Like Robson, Don Howe was heavily involved in England’s 1958 World Cup campaign in Sweden.
Unlike Robson, the legendary right-back played in all four games, including that 1-0 play-off loss against the Soviet Union.
Howe was called up for 1962’s edition in Chile but didn’t make an appearance, with his final cap for the Three Lions coming three years earlier in a Home Championships victory over Northern Ireland.
The Wolverhampton-born full-back returned to the international set-up in 1981, working on Ron Greenwood’s coaching team, before staying on when Robson replaced him in charge.
In 1994, Howe served as Terry Venables’ assistant until 1996 when England hosted the European Championships and reached the semi-finals.
Derek Kevan – The Tank is West Brom’s only World Cup goalscorer
As was the case with both Robson and Howe, Derek Kevan was named in Sir Walter Winterbottom’s 1958 World Cup squad, which had a strong contingent of players from bitter rivals West Brom and Wolves.
Kevan scored against the Soviet Union in a pre-tournament friendly game before repeating that feat in England’s opener against the Soviets on 8 June 1958 in Gothenburg.
Winterbottom’s side were 2-0 down when Kevan netted in the 66th minute to bag the fifth goal of his England career. Sir Tom Finney then scored a late penalty to win the Three Lions a point.
Kevan came to the rescue again against Austria, scoring the last goal of a 2-2 draw that set up a play-off match against the Soviet Union.
Unfortunately, Kevan couldn’t repeat his heroics in that game.
In 1962, ‘The Tank’ was named once more in Winterbottom’s squad but he didn’t travel to Chile as he served as a stay-at-home reserve.
Jeff Astle – Albion’s only World Cup match winner with England
The 1970 World Cup in Mexico is the only World Cup that England have gone into as holders.
West Brom legend Jeff Astle came off the bench in group-stage matches against Brazil and Czechoslovakia, unfortunately being guilty of a huge miss against the former.
England lost 1-0 to a Jairzinho and Pele-inspired Brazil, in what is widely seen as one of the most memorable matches in World Cup history.
After coming off the bench in that game, Astle could have added to his legendary status with a goal, but despite a defensive mishap, he managed to fire his easy chance off target.
A few days later, Astle came off the bench in a 1-0 win over Czechoslovakia, meaning he’s the only West Brom player to win a game at the World Cup finals.
No Albion fan would have held it against Astle at the time, as just two years earlier, he scored the goal that won the 1968 FA Cup final.
Ben Foster – 44-year wait ends as West Brom star shines amid appalling result
England’s 2014 World Cup campaign in Brazil was one to forget.
Roy Hodgson‘s side crashed out of the group stages after losses against Italy and Uruguay before a draw against Costa Rica.
Ben Foster was named in goals for that 0-0 draw in Belo Horizonte, Brazil, with Costa Rica managing the finish top of the group and knocking out the Three Lions and Italy.
Foster is widely considered a modern-day legend by West Brom fans and is seen as one of the club’s greatest goalkeepers of all time.
He’s the last Albion player to have played for England at the World Cup and unfortunately, unless there’s a drastic change in the Black Country club’s fortunes, he could be the last for a very long time.
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