England's predicted 'team of the future' from 2007 managed to earn ...

Only Theo Walcott and Micah Richards managed to make the cut on an international level for England, with the rest of the predicted side from 2007 failing to ever represent the Three Lions at senior level

England's predicted XI of the future from 2007 has flopped monumentally, with the players picked only managing 60 caps between them 17 years on.

One publication decided to take a punt at predicting the English wonderkids of the future many moons ago, but their expectations fell far short of reality - with nine of their picks failing to appear for England at all in the last 17 years. Looking back to the team of 2007, Steve McLaren was at the helm of a budding quad jam packed with potential.

Paul Robinson was dominating between the sticks, while Rio Ferdinand, John Terry and Sol Campbell were at the heart of defence - flanked either side by a prime Ashley Cole and Micah Richards. The midfield was made-up of Steven Gerrard, Frank Lampard, David Beckham and Owen Hargreaves, while Wayne Rooney and Michael Owen were scoring for fun.

That's a hard act to follow to say the very least. And it encouraged some to pick out who would eventually replace the 'golden generation' – although not without great success.

Only two of the predicted players ended up being called up to the England squad; Theo Walcott and Micah Richards. Walcott was already capped for the Three Lions at the age of 17 in 2006, having already joined Arsenal at that point. He would go on to achieve 47 caps for his country over the next ten years, netting eight times in total.

Richards, on the other hand, was playing for Manchester City we he got his first big break for England - debuting against the Netherlands in November 2006 at the age of 18. He would go on to enjoy 13 caps in total for his nation, scoring his only goal for England in a 3-0 Euro 2008 qualifier win over Israel at Wembley.

Gavin Hoyte racked up three international caps during his career, albeit with Trinidad and Tobago. After his release from Arsenal he moved onto the likes of Dagenham & Redbridge, Gillingham, Barnet and Eastleigh, before signing for Maidstone United - where he currently crafts his trade at the age of 34.

Michael Johnson would only play professional football for six years before calling it a day in 2012 at the age of just 24 having made just 44 appearances for Manchester City and Leicester City in total. In 2021, Johnson cited that the reason for his early retirement was that he didn't want "to be defined by football".

Jose Baxter was just 16 years old when he made his professional debut with Everton in 2008, becoming the second-youngest player to ever grace the league behind Matthew Briggs of Fulham. And while he would represent his nation at U16 and U17 level, it would be too much, too young, too soon for Baxter who never quite developed enough to get the call. He retired at the age of 29 in 2020, after failing to make an appearance in the Premier League again.

Scott Sinclair was another member of the fabled squad that never was. Sinclair will be fondly remembered by Celtic fans. He scored 40 goals in his 105 Scottish Premiership appearances but never quite managed to convince the Three Lions to come calling. A five year spell at Chelsea would only see him appear five times for the team, instead being loaned out to the likes of Plymouth Argyle, Charlton Athletic and Birmingham to develop further.

He joined Swansea City in 2010 and enjoyed two years in Wales, featuring in almost every game for the side. Manchester City would come knocking in 2012, only to loan Sinclair out to West Brom and Aston Villa - signing for the latter in 2015. After spending four years at Celtic, Sinclair moved on to Preston North End, switching to Bristol Rovers in 2022.

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