Last month, manager Gareth Southgate handpicked 26 of the best English football players to be apart of his FIFA 2022 World Cup squad.
Fast forward and England are in Qatar preparing to play France in the quarter finals on Saturday (10 December).
The Three Lions finished top of Group B after beating both Iran and Wales, and drawing with USA. They then beat Senegal 3-0 in the knockout rounds which took place on Sunday (4 December).
Liverpool’s Jordan Henderson and Chelsea’s Raheem Sterling are competiting in the World Cup for a third time, whilst the likes of Jude Bellingham, Kalvin Phillips and Phil Foden are new to the stage of the biggest football tournament.
However, no matter if it’s their third or first World Cup, each football star started at the very bottom and had years of training in the youth academy’s across the county before making their senior teams debut.
Let’s take a look at where the 26 England World Cup players started off:
13. Jordan Pickford began his senior career with Sunderland in 2011. The goalkeeper began representing England U19’s a year later.
Ryan Noble (L) and goalkeeper Jordan Pickford (R) celebrate winning the Peace Cup 3rd place play-off match between Sunderland and FC Groningen on July 22, 2012 in Suwon, South Korea. (Photo by Kiyoshi Ota/Getty Images) | Getty Images
14. Jack Grealish began his senior career at Aston Villa in 2012. He represented the Republic of Ireland between 2011 and 2014, but deciding to represent England U21’s in 2016.
Ryan Tunnicliffe (R) clashes with Jack Grealish (C) during the Barclays Premier Reserve League Play-Off Final match between Manchester United Reserves and Aston Villa Reserves on May 10, 2012 in Manchester, England. (Photo by John Peters/Manchester United via Getty Images) | Manchester United via Getty Imag
15. Phil Foden began his senior career at Manchester City in 2017. He began representing England U16’s in 2015.
Phil Foden during the Tournoi International game between England U16 and the Netherlands U16 on October 29, 2015 in Boissy-Saint-Leger, France. (Photo by Aurelien Meunier/Getty Images) | Getty Images
16. Declan Rice began his senior career at West Ham United in 2017. He represented the Republic of Ireland between 2015 and 2018, before deciding to represent England in 2019.
Declan Rice in action during the EFL Checkatrade Trophy match between Northampton Town and West Ham United on November 8, 2016 in Northampton, England. (Photo by Pete Norton/Getty Images) | Getty Images
17. Mason Mount began his senior career at Chelsea in 2017. He began representing England U16’s in 2014.
Mason Mount (L) and Joe Pritchard (R) during the Premier League 2 match between Chelsea and Tottenham Hotspur on September 9, 2016 in London, England. (Photo by Clive Rose/Getty Images) | Getty Images
18. Jordan Henderson began his senior career at Sunderland in 2008. He began representing England U19’s in 2009.
Jordan Henderson during the FA Youth Cup Semi Final Second Leg match between Manchester City and Sunderland on March 11, 2008 in Manchester, England. (Photo by Christopher Lee/Getty Images) | Getty Images