For Carlton Cole, England and his international career is tinged with what might have been – and he has now told FFT how it could have easily played out very differently.
Cole was successful with the Three Lions at youth team level, scoring six goals in 19 games for the under-21 side.
But despite wining seven caps, the forward was unable to find the net for his country in senior international football.
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Cole’s excellent form as a striker for West Ham in 2008-09 saw him break into the England squad for the first time, giving him the chance to make a name for himself at the highest level.
It’s always memorable when a player finds the net on their Three Lions debut.
Those to have done so make up a rogue list of players, featuring the likes of Rickie Lambert, Harry Kane, Alan Smith and… David Nugent.
And Cole still believes he should have joined that group after winning his first senior cap against Spain in 2009, back when Fabio Capello was managing the Three Lions.
Speaking exclusively to FourFourTwo, Cole said: “I had my best time in the Premier League under Gianfranco Zola. He was a fantastic motivator.
“He was a former team-mate from Chelsea and when he came to West Ham he had help from Steve Clarke, who was my youth-team manager at Stamford Bridge, so I was like, ‘Wow, this is a match made in heaven and it’s going to be good for me’.
“Eventually, I did so well that I got into the England squad. At the time, it was quite unheard of for West Ham players to be involved in the England setup; you usually had to be playing for one of the top four sides to get into the fold.
“I only made seven appearances for England, but I was involved quite a lot and attended plenty of camps.
“I almost scored on my debut, in a friendly defeat against Spain in 2009. I came on as a substitute, David Beckham put me in and I went around the goalkeeper – I thought I’d scored but Carlos Marchena cleared it off the line.”
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The second half chance was as close as England got to the European Champions that night in Seville.
Goals from David Villa and Fernando Llorente ensured a 2-0 win for the hosts.
Cole, these days a regular pundit for Talksport and TNT Sports, never got quite as close to scoring for England again.
He did go on to make six further appearances, all from the substitutes bench, and remains grateful for the opportunity to represent his country.
“Scoring on my debut could have been a life-changing experience,” he added. “But I was just happy to be involved and around the team.”
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