England Football Internationals: Who Are The 11 Best Of Of All Time?

Gary Neville retired from competitive football this week—effective immediately—bringing an end to a 20-year career with both Manchester United and England.

Neville was the ultimate professional; loyal, passionate and extremely competitive. He has been described as the best right-back in the history of the Premier League by some Utd fans and I certainly wouldn't argue with that assessment. In fact I would go one step further and say that he was the best number two in England's history.

Neville's retirement got me thinking.  Who are the best eleven England players of all time for their respective positions? This article aims to answer that question. Here is my ultimate England starting line-up. Do you agree?

Gordon Banks

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LONDON, ENGLAND - MAY 19: England 1966 Legend Gordon Banks talks to the media during the Marks & Spencer England World Cup Suit Launch on May 19, 2010 in London, England. (Photo by Bryn Lennon/Getty Images for M&S)

Banks was a member of England's 1966 World Cup champion team. He was also named by Pele as one of the top 125 greatest living footballers in 2004

Gary Neville

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MANCHESTER, UNITED KINGDOM - JANUARY 20: Gary Neville of Manchester United tackles Jordan Stewart of Derby County during the Carling Cup Semi Final 2nd Leg match between Manchester United and Derby County at Old Trafford on January 20, 2009 in Manchester

See the Introduction Slide. 

Stuart Pearce

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22 Jun 1996: Stuart Pearce of England celebrates after scoring his penalty during the European soccer championship match between England and Spain at Wembley Stadium, London. England won the match after extra time

Pearce won 78 caps for England. He was also a member of the 1990 World Cup and Euro 96 squads. Though Pearce missed a crucial penalty kick in the 1990 World Cup, he made up for it six years later, scoring in the quarter-final shoot-out win against Spain.

Bobby Moore

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22 May 1971: Peter Cormack of Scotland (left) and Bobby Moore (right) of England both challenge for the ball during the match at Hampden Park in Glasgow, Scotland. England won the match 3-1. \ Mandatory Credit: Allsport UK /Allsport

Moore was captain of the 1966 World Cup champions. He led his country out a record-equalising 90 times and won 108 caps in total.

Terry Butcher

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6 Sep 1989: A bloody Terry Butcher in action during the World Cup Qualifier against Sweden at Stockholm, Sweden. The game was drawn 0-0. \ Mandatory Credit: David Cannon /Allsport

Featured in the England back-four throughout the 80's, Butcher was a member of the 1990 World Cup squad.

John Barnes

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1988: John Barnes of England in action during the Rous Cup match against Scotland played at Wembley Stadium in London, England. England won the match 1-0. \ Mandatory Credit: Simon Bruty/Allsport

Barnes played for England 79 times. He is perhaps best remembered for scoring a wonder goal against Brazil in 1984 and for setting up Gary Lineker's goal in the 1986 World Cup quarter final defeat against Argentina.

David Beckham

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MANCHESTER - OCTOBER 6: David Beckham of England scores an injury time equalising goal during the World Cup Group 9 Qualifier between England and Greece at Old Trafford in Manchester, England. England sealed qualification after the game ended 2-2. (Phot

Beckham captained England for six years between 2000 and 2006. He holds the record for the most number of caps for an outfield player. Beckham also played in three World Cups.

Bryan Robson

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7 Jun 1989: Bryan Robson captains England in the International friendly against Denmark in Copenhagen, Denmark. The game ended in a 1-1 draw. \ Mandatory Credit: Ben Radford /Allsport

Robson captained his country 65 times and scored 26 goals from midfield.

Bobby Charlton

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LONDON - APRIL 28: Bobby Charlton of Manchester United runs with the ball during the League Division One match between Chelsea and Manchester United held on April 28, 1973 at Stamford Bridge, in London. Chelsea won the match 1-0. This was a special game

Charlton is England's record goalscorer with 49. He was a member of the 1966 World Cup champion.

Gary Lineker

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4 JUL 1990: GARY LINEKER OF ENGLAND CELEBRATES AFTER SCORING THE EQUALISER AGAINST WEST GERMANY IN THEIR WORLD CUP SEMI FINAL MATCH PLAYED IN THE DELLE ALPI STADIUM IN TURIN. THE MATCH WAS A 1-1 DRAW AFTER EXTRA TIME BUT WEST GERMANY WON THE PENALTY SHOO

Lineker scored 48 goals for England and won the Golden Boot at the 1986 World Cup.

Jimmy Greaves

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1965: Jimmy Greaves (centre) of Tottenham Hotspur sneaks in between Ron Yeats (left) and Tommy Smith (right) of Liverpool during the match between Spurs and Liverpool at White Hart Lane, London. \ Mandatory Credit: Allsport UK /Allsport

England's third highest international goalscorer with 44 goals, Greaves holds the record for the most hat-tricks for England with 6.