Phil Jagielka explains how his first England cap was nearly null and void & talks through Three Lions’ best current back-four

• “Playing for England’s B team, Alan Smith told me “don’t worry Jags, if you don’t get a proper cap, you can just scribble the B off that shirt!”
• “Captaining England has to be the proudest moment of my career. It’s nice; I look at the picture of that team, and it’s one of Harry Kane’s first games, Dele Alli is there, Ross Barkley played, Jack Butland was in goal… I’m not trying to be disrespectful, but it obviously wasn’t Roy’s first eleven.
• [On playing for England B] “I looked at the shirt and obviously I was buzzing, then I see on the front of it, plastered across the middle it just said ‘ENGLAND B’. Talk about an anti-climax!”
• Alan Smith said to me: “Don’t worry, Jags, if you don’t get a proper cap you can just scribble off the B!” I thought ‘how’s that for confidence in me?!'”
• My first proper cap came against Trinidad and Tobago, and even in that game, there were rumours that it was going to be null and void because we’d made too many substitutions!“
• “For me, the simplest back four is Jordan [Pickford], Kyle [Walker], John [Stones], Harry [Maguire] and Luke [Shaw]. It’s as simple as that.“
• “To be fair, I still felt part of it in 2012. You know, I felt the pain. We weren’t blessed with a lot of penalty takers on that night, against Italy; we never have been. It just seems like a bit of a curse for us.“
  

Playing for England’s B team, Alan Smith told me “don’t worry Jags, if you don’t get a proper cap, you can just scribble the B off that shirt!”

Captaining England has to be the proudest moment of my career. I remember when Roy [Hodgson] pulled me to let me know, we’d won nine out of nine qualifiers, and I think he was going to rest a couple of players. We were playing on an artificial pitch in Lithuania, and he told me I was going to wear the armband.

It’s nice; I look at the picture of that team, and it’s one of Harry Kane’s first games, Dele Alli is there, Ross Barkley played, Jack Butland was in goal… I’m not trying to be disrespectful, but it obviously wasn’t Roy’s first eleven. But it was amazing; I had to do the press conference and all sorts. I’d worn the band before when players had come on and off, but this was the first time I’d started a game as England captain. Leading the lads out is totally different to wearing the armband because of a few late substitutions.

But it was mad, especially when I think back to my early career where I played for England B – which tells you how old I am – at Burnley. I came on as a right-back, number 12. I looked at the shirt and obviously I was buzzing, then I see on the front of it, plastered across the middle it just said ‘ENGLAND B’. Talk about an anti-climax!

Alan Smith said to me:

“Don’t worry, Jags, if you don’t get a proper cap you can just scribble off the B!”

I thought ‘how’s that for confidence in me?!’

My first England cap was nearly null and void

My first proper cap came against Trinidad and Tobago, and even in that game, there were rumours that it was going to be null and void because we’d made too many substitutions! They were trying to change the rules around subs because people were complaining that full squads were being changed at half-time, and even though we agreed with Trinidad and Tobago that that’s what we were going to do, by the time we got on the flight home, my cap wasn’t going to count! But then, by the time we got home, it did count, because we someone got the paperwork done.

But, no, to captain my country, it doesn’t really get better than that. You know, I got released by Everton as a 15-year-old and played in the Championship for a decent while before making it in the Premier League… it’s a nice little journey, anyway!

England’s best back four, right now, is…

England teams and certain selections are always up for debate, aren’t they? Because the team don’t play week-in, week-out, there’s limited opportunity to establish partnerships, particularly in defence. When you can keep a settled back four or back five, it’s so, so key to your chances of success.

Harry Maguire gets a lot of stick, and people often debate whether or not he should be in there because of his position at Man United. Look, we’ve got a lot of talented centre-halves in there, but they’ve not had the opportunity to play alongside a John Stones, a Luke Shaw, or even a Jordan Pickford who himself is in an interesting position. You know, as goalkeepers go, Jordan is very animated in comparison to most. And that’s not a negative, by the way, but it means his defenders have got to learn and understand that’s part of his game, and that’s something Stones and Maguire, in particular, know so well. So, for me, the simplest back four is Jordan [Pickford], Kyle [Walker], John [Stones], Harry [Maguire] and Luke [Shaw]. It’s as simple as that.

But, you’re missing out on someone whose set-piece taking is a joke, in Trent Alexander-Arnold, who is now somehow playing centre-midfield for England. Ben Chilwell misses out, but he doesn’t play a lot for his club at the moment because of his injuries. And then you’ve got a lot of young centre-halves who have been given a decent amount of game time over the last 12-18 months at club level. But I think, for me, in terms of a solid unit, heading into the Euros this summer, it’s got to be those lads I’ve already mentioned.

Because we’ve got an array of talent, I think sometimes people think we have to give opportunities and share the load. But if you look at the successful teams of years gone by… you know, Italy for example, if their main guys are fit, they’re playing. Especially in defence.

Further up the field, I think you go a little bit more on form and confidence. But the workhorses in defence, it’s a case of better the devil you know.

I may not have played, but I still felt the pain of our Euro 2012 exit

Ukraine was a strange one for me, back in 2012. I felt a bit like an extra, going on that trip. I was late into it, taking Gareth Barry’s place through injury. And because of that, I knew there would’ve needed to have been one or two suspensions or injuries to defenders for me to even get close to playing. My job was more just a case of being there as an extra pair of legs for training sessions; I got worked in a different way, I was almost like a training player.

That’s the difficult thing to get right at international tournaments; managing those players who feel so far away from it all, and to his credit, I think that’s something Gareth Southgate has done really well… every man in that team knows their role, and everyone feels a part of it.

And, to be fair, I still felt part of it in 2012. You know, I felt the pain. We weren’t blessed with a lot of penalty takers on that night, against Italy; we never have been. It just seems like a bit of a curse for us.