'I'm the only Englishman to play in a Champions League final and not be called up to the national team': Former Liverpool star 'frustrated' at not getting England cap
42 English stars have turned out in a Champions League final since 1992, but only one has never appeared for the national team
(Image credit: Getty Images)
Since the rebrand of the Champions League in 1992, 42 English players have featured in a final for a number of different teams, but only one never had the opportunity to play internationally for England: Jermaine Pennant.
Despite making 24 appearances in total for the England U21 team as a youngster still at Arsenal, the right-winger never managed to get a call-up for the senior side - not even after he had been named Man of the Match in the 2007 Champions League final.
While Liverpool lost that game 2-1 to AC Milan, Pennant impressed with his constant dribbling at left-back Marek Jankulovski all game, and he even lay on the assist for Dirk Kuyt's 89th-minute goal.
Pennant played 24 times for England U21s, but never for the senior side (Image credit: Getty Images)
Still only 24 at the time, Pennant certainly believed he deserved to represent England, though recognises other matters were called into question.
"Looking back, I would say it was frustrating," Pennant admits to FourFourTwo on behalf of Bettingsites.co.uk. "Especially when I'm getting the Man of the Match award in a Champions League final.
"That whole first season at Liverpool was a highlight for me, ending with a European final. But, when you look at the history of it, I'm the only Englishman to play in a Champions League final and not be called up to the national team, or play in the national team, or get a cap.
"It was frustrating. It was never down to my ability. It probably had more to do with things that were going on off the pitch."
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Pennant impressed in the Champions League final against AC Milan (Image credit: Getty Images)
Instead, players such as Shaun Wright-Phillips, Aaron Lennon and David Bentley were selected ahead of Pennant, who unfortunately has to settle for the unwanted aforementioned statistic of being the only Englishman to have played in a Champions League final but not for his country.
Following his snub from the national team, off-field issues and a loss of form eventually saw Pennant spend the second half of the 2008/09 season on-loan at Portsmouth.
While he eventually got back to his best at Stoke, reaching the FA Cup final and impressing under Tony Pulis, an England call-up still never materialised.
Jermaine Pennant was speaking to FourFourTwo on behalf of Bettingsites.co.uk.
Ryan is a staff writer for FourFourTwo, joining the team full-time in October 2022. He first joined Future in December 2020, working across FourFourTwo, Golf Monthly, Rugby World and Advnture's websites, before eventually earning himself a position with FourFourTwo permanently. After graduating from Cardiff University with a degree in Journalism and Communications, Ryan earned a NCTJ qualification to further develop as a writer while a Trainee News Writer at Future.
