England vs Australia 2003: Where are they now?
England played Australia in 2003 in one of the Three Lions' more memorable friendlies – but what happened to those lads?
England face Australia this week – and for those of a certain age, there's only one clash between this pair that comes to mind.
20 years ago, the Three Lions lost 3-1 to the Socceroos at Upton Park, as Wayne Rooney made the first of 120 appearances for his country, while two separate XIs were used for each half. Sven Goran-Eriksson used no fewer than 22 players that night – but where are they all now?
Ahead of tonight's clash at Wembley, FourFourTwo takes a look...
England vs Australia 2003's squads: How they all fared…
First half
David James
England's number one at Euro 2004 and the 2010 World Cup, David James won 53 caps for the Three Lions.
He retired in 2014 and was declared bankrupt the same year, before going into punditry and appearing on Strictly Come Dancing, among other ventures.
Gary Neville
A mainstay of the England team during the late 90s and early 00s, Gary Neville represented his country at five major tournaments.
These days, he's one of the main pundits and co-commentators on Sky Sports, and is never shy of giving his opinion – more often than not on his old club, Manchester United – as well as co-owning Salford City.
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Rio Ferdinand
Like Neville, Rio Ferdinand has gone from Manchester United and England defensive star to prominent football media figure.
Ferdinand earned 81 caps during a 14-year international career, scoring at the 2002 World Cup.
Sol Campbell
Sol Campbell formed a robust centre-back partnership with Ferdinand under Sven-Goran Eriksson, also finding the net at the 2002 World Cup.
After hanging up his boots, he managed Macclesfield Town and Southend United, as well as setting up the Kids Goes Live charity to allow underprivileged children to attend major sporting events.
Ashley Cole
Arguably his nation's greatest left-back of all-time, Ashley Cole belongs to a select group of players to have won more than 100 England caps.
The Arsenal and Chelsea legend later went into coaching, serving under England U21 boss Lee Carsley and Frank Lampard during his time as Everton manager.
David Beckham
England's inspirational captain from 2000 to 2006, David Beckham finished his international career with 115 caps – the second-most of any Three Lions outfield player.
He's been pretty busy in retirement, co-owning Inter Miami and Salford City – and his Netflix documentary series has just landed, too.
Frank Lampard
Another member of England's 100+ cap club, Frank Lampard has had the most prominent managerial career of this Three Lions crop.
That's not to say he's been particularly successful in the dugout, though: he's been sacked by both Chelsea and, most recently, Everton.
Paul Scholes
With Steven Gerrard and Frank Lampard also on the scene at the same time, Paul Scholes didn't have the England career he perhaps should have.
Now a regular pundit as well as co-owning Salford City with Neville, Beckham et al, the Manchester United icon had a brief spell in charge of Oldham Athletic in 2019.
Kieron Dyer
Kieron Dyer's start against Australia was one of 33 England caps for the former Newcastle and West Ham midfielder.
After retiring, he took on several coaching roles with boyhood club Ipswich Town, eventually overseeing their U23 team.
James Beattie
Prolific in front of goal for Southampton in the early 00s, there was a time when it looked like James Beattie would go on to have a decent career – but he ultimately won just five caps, failing to score.
Since hanging up his boots, he's held a number of coaching roles, most recently as an assistant at Wigan Athletic.
Michael Owen
One of England's all-time leading scorers with 40 goals, Michael Owen found the net at four major tournaments.
Another to have gone into the punditry game since calling time on his playing career, the Liverpool legend appeared on The Masked Singer as a stack of doughnuts in 2022 (as you do...).
Second half
Paul Robinson
David James' half-time replacement between the sticks, the Australia friendly saw Paul Robinson make his England debut.
The ex-Leeds and Tottenham goalkeeper would go on to win 41 caps for the Three Lions, retiring from playing in 2017.
Danny Mills
Danny Mills only played for England 19 times – but five of those were at the 2002 World Cup, where he was ever present at right-back in the absence of the injured Gary Neville.
These days, the former Leeds and Manchester City defender is a regular on talkSPORT.
Wes Brown
Perhaps unfortunate to have come through at the same time as elite centre-backs such as Ferdinand and Campbell, Wes Brown never represented England at a major tournament (although he did make Eriksson's 2002 World Cup squad).
He retired from football in 2018, ending his career with Indian Super League outfit Kerala Blasters.
Ledley King
One of the finest English defenders of the early 21st century, Ledley King defied a chronic knee issue to represent his country 21 times – and make over 300 appearances for Tottenham.
He is now a club ambassador at Spurs, where he briefly worked as a coach under Jose Mourinho.
Paul Konchesky
Another debutant against Australia, Paul Konchesky went on to win only one further England cap.
In recent years, the former Charlton Athletic and Liverpool left-back has held coaching positions with West Ham's academy and women's team.
Owen Hargreaves
Injuries prevented England from getting as much as they ought to have done out of one of the most talent midfielders of his generation in Owen Hargreaves.
The former Manchester United, Manchester City and Bayern Munich earned 42 Three Lions caps – appearing at three major tournaments – and is now a pundit.
Danny Murphy
The Australia friendly saw Danny Murphy earn the sixth of nine England caps, eight of which came in friendlies.
Now a regular in the Match of the Day studio, the former Liverpool and Fulham midfielder retired from playing in 2013.
Jermaine Jenas
Another debutant against Australia, Jermaine Jenas earned 21 caps for England in all, scoring his only international goal in Fabio Capello's first match in charge – a friendly with Switzerland in 2008.
Nowadays, Jenas can be found presenting The One Show, as well as European football coverage on TNT Sports.
Darius Vassell
Unfortunately best remembered for having his penalty saved by a gloveless Ricardo in England's Euro 2004 quarter-final exit to Portugal, Darius Vassell carved out a solid Three Lions career overall.
That was the last of his 22 caps, in which he scored six goals; he retired from football in 2012.
Francis Jeffers
Francis Jeffers belongs to a niche category in the history of the England national team: one cap, one goal (a header from Jenas' cross).
An Arsenal player at the time, Jeffers turned out for 11 clubs in all, hanging up his boots in 2013; he's now coaching in Saudi Arabia.
Wayne Rooney
It was a night to forget for England, but the Australia friendly is where it all began for a certain Wayne Rooney.
After 53 goals in 120 caps (the latter still a record for an outfield player), Manchester United's record scorer retired from international duty in 2018 – and from football altogether in 2021, going on to manage Derby County and D.C. United.
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Tom Hancock started freelancing for FourFourTwo in April 2019 and has also written for the Premier League and Opta Analyst, among others. He supports Wycombe Wanderers and has a soft spot for Wealdstone. A self-confessed statto, he has been known to watch football with a spreadsheet (or several) open...