Highest number of league teams represented in a national 11

[lackedpunch]

I remember that when I first started to get interested in football in 1980 it seemed that half of the England team were Liverpool players.

I've just been looking this up, and over the years Arsenal and Manchester City have also supplied five or six of the starting line up in the England team.

So there have doubtless been England teams (and other international teams) in which only four or five league sides are represented.

But thinking about the flipside, what's the highest number of league teams that have been represented in a national eleven?

Has there ever been a national eleven with eleven different teams providing players?

[ursus arctos]

The US just did this for their recent friendly in Portugal.

The starting XI

Horvath (Club Brugge); Yedlin (Newcastle United), Brooks (Wolfsburg), Miazga (Vitesse), Lichaj (Nottingham Forest); Adams (New York Red Bulls), McKennie (Schalke 04), Williams (Huddersfield Town), Acosta (FC Dallas); Sapong (Philadelphia Union), Agudelo (New England Revolution).

Given the distribution of US internationals, it isn't that unusual.

[Bored Of Education]

Usually, Wales would be all over this - like most small international teams - but Neil Taylor and James Chester are both at Villa.

[Renart]

Seems like Argentina may have done this recently, too, or come close, since few of their best players play in their domestic league, and are instead scattered throughout Europe.

[Patrick Thistle]

Usually, Wales would be all over this - like most small international teams - but Neil Taylor and James Chester are both at Villa.

But that's just this season. Mind you, last season Hennessey and Ledley were both at Palace.

[lackedpunch]

Here's another challenge:

Which national side has fielded the most players who were playing for non top division teams ( eg.Steve Bull getting England cap whilst playing for Wolves, who were not a top flight side at the time)

I'll bet three is the highest!

[Uros Predic]

Wales do achieve this intermittently... the 25 minutes after Joe Ledley was subbed off in the 2018 World Cup qualifier v Moldova being one example;

Palace; Reading, Villa, Everton (West Ham), Tottenham, Swansea; Cardiff, Stoke, Leicester; Burnley (West Brom), Real Madrid

[The Awesome Berbaslug!!!]

Seems like Argentina may have done this recently, too, or come close, since few of their best players play in their domestic league, and are instead scattered throughout Europe.

Argentina are going to struggle because often people (often argentinian coaches) like to buy a second argentinian to keep the first one company. The other night they had ottamendi and aguero from man city, di maria and some young player from PSG, and Mascherano and Messi usually start. Then there's romero and rojo, who certainly started the last world cup final. Juventus have dybala and higuain, and Inter have Mauro icardi and javier zanetti.

.

[seand]

Here's another challenge:

Which national side has fielded the most players who were playing for non top division teams ( eg.Steve Bull getting England cap whilst playing for Wolves, who were not a top flight side at the time)

I'll bet three is the highest!

Northern Ireland and Ireland would regularly play half a dozen players from the English Championship and lower. Against Denmark on Tuesday Ireland started with Randolph (Boro), Christie (Derby), Murphy (Forest) and Meyler (Hull). McGeady (Sund) and Hoolahan (Norwich) came on. Similarly with other smaller countries. Every Liechtenstein club plays in the Swiss pyramid and only Vaduz play occasionally in the top division. I wouldn't be surprised if they fielded an entire team playing outside the top flight. Current Liechtenstein squad contains one player at Verona and one at Toronto, the rest are down the divisions.

[Sam]

TAB, neither Romero nor Rojo were Manchester United players when the last World Cup final was played, mind. But yeah, you're right about the fact that there are nearly always at least one or two pairs of players involved who are clubmates. I was going to suggest Tuesday's friendly as a possibility actually, off the top of my head, because Messi was given a few days off so wasn't involved. But I'd forgotten Agüero and Otamendi, Di María and Lo Celso. Argentina do seem quite likely to be the highest-ranked team with a low number of (but not no) clubmates involved, though.

Here's another challenge:

Which national side has fielded the most players who were playing for non top division teams ( eg.Steve Bull getting England cap whilst playing for Wolves, who were not a top flight side at the time)

I'll bet three is the highest!

Without looking this up, I bet three isn't the highest. There'll be teams way down the rankings who dream of one day being able to field an actual top flight footballer, I'd have thought.

[jameswba]

Slovakia's starting XI vs Norway on Tuesday featured players from 10 different clubs. Tomas Hubocan and Jan Durica (making his last international appearance) spoiled things, as both play for Trabzonspor.

Between them, the 24 players initially in the squad for this game play their club football in 13 different countries. I wonder if any country that's made it to the World Cup will have such a diaspora (for want of a better word).

[Southport Zeb]

At the last World Cup Ghana had the squad playing in the most countries, also 13 (but only 23 players) - Ghana, Greece, UAE, Belgium, Italy, Netherlands, Germany, France, Norway, England, South Africa, Russia, Tunisia

[Jah Womble]

I've just been looking this up, and over the years Arsenal and Manchester City have also supplied five or six of the starting line up in the England team.

You probably didn't need to go as far back as you did: Spurs have regularly supplied five starters (Walker [pre-move], Rose, Dier, Alli, Kane) over the past couple of seasons, including three of the matches in Euro 2016. (For all the good it did.)

Anyways, back to topic...

[Uncle Ethan]

Australia last night - 11 clubs and seven countries on a quick count.

[Duncan Gardner]

Northern Ireland and Ireland would regularly play half a dozen players from the English Championship and lower

For the first three games of this qualifying series NI used only 3 EPL players. Usually it was 4 and for one game only 5. Still, we do have some exotic glamor- big Laugherty has played in 5 different countries.

Right, time for the regular Jan Durica quiz. Who is the odd man out and why?

[Satchmo Distel]

N Ireland v Honduras 1982: Arsenal, Toronto Blizzard, Luton, Tulsa Roughnecks, Southampton, Norwich, Watford, Burnley, Stoke, Rangers, Manchester United http://www.fifa.com/worldcup/matches...959/index.html

[Jorge Porbillas]

Back in the day when the FA treated the other Home Nations with contempt, Wales fielded three non-league players against Scotland in 1930.
The FA refused permission for non-English players to be released from their Football League clubs for international duty meaning Wales had to select a team from Welsh clubs. Of the XI who played, Fred Keenor had 29 caps, Len Evans the keeper was winning his second cap whilst the other nine were debutants.

Len Evans (Cardiff City)
Fred Dewey (Cardiff Corinthians)
Wynne Crompton (Wrexham)
Billy Rogers (Wrexham)
Fred Keenor (Cardiff City)
Emrys Ellis (Nunhead)
William Collins (Llanelli)
John Neal (Colwyn Bay)
Thomas Bamford (Wrexham)
Walter Robbins (Cardiff City)
Billy Thomas (Newport County)

[Various Artist]

That's amazing – I mean, I've never even heard of Nunhead. Where is it?

[Jorge Porbillas]

But that's just this season. Mind you, last season Hennessey and Ledley were both at Palace.

... and now with Edwards joining Gunter at Reading!

[Jorge Porbillas]

That's amazing – I mean, I've never even heard of Nunhead. Where is it?

Apparently it's in London ... but I did have to Google it! Emrys went on to win three caps - a second whilst at Nunhead and a third after joining Oswestry Town!

Surprisingly Emrys is also Nunhead's only ever international player, but Denis Compton did play for them prior to signing for Arsenal (thanks Wikipedia!)

[Duncan Gardner]

Rio and Anton Ferdinand are from Nunhead

[elguapo4]

Upping the ante, has any national team fielded 14 (starting 11 and 3 subs ) from 14 different teams?

[Uros Predic]

Apparently it's in London ... but I did have to Google it! Emrys went on to win three caps - a second whilst at Nunhead and a third after joining Oswestry Town!

Surprisingly Emrys is also Nunhead's only ever international player, but Denis Compton did play for them prior to signing for Arsenal (thanks Wikipedia!)

The location of their old ground is five minutes walk from my flat in South East London; they were quite a prominent club at the time Emrys Ellis won his caps having just won their second successive Isthmian league title, but they effectively disbanded during the Second World War.

[tracteurgarcon]

I remember that when I first started to get interested in football in 1980 it seemed that half of the England team were Liverpool players.

I've just been looking this up, and over the years Arsenal and Manchester City have also supplied five or six of the starting line up in the England team.

So there have doubtless been England teams (and other international teams) in which only four or five league sides are represented.

But thinking about the flipside, what's the highest number of league teams that have been represented in a national eleven?

Has there ever been a national eleven with eleven different teams providing players?

I realise that this is going the other way but didn't the Soviet Union fairly regularly field teams almost entire made up of Dynamo Kiev players?

[ale]

I realise that this is going the other way but didn't the Soviet Union fairly regularly field teams almost entire made up of Dynamo Kiev players?

Think Scotland started out being exclusively represented by Queens Park.