Joe Hart
Age: 27
Caps: 39

Joe Hart has extensive international experience at both the youth and senior level.

Hart made his first international appearance in 2005 in an under-19 friendly match against Poland, coming off the bench in the second half to keep a clean sheet on the way to a 2–0 win. He then played in five of the next six games for the under-19s, his last a 1–0 defeat away to Serbia and Montenegro.

After making his under-21 debut as a substitute for Scott Carson in a 2–2 draw with Spain, Hart was selected by Stuart Pearce in the preliminary England Under-21 30-man squad for Euro 2007, and later made the final 23. In the team’s final friendly before the finals, Hart was selected for his first Under-21 start, and played the full 90 minutes in a 5–0 win over Slovakia.

Hart was recalled to the U21s and was first-choice at the Euro 2009 finals. He started in the first two group stage matches and was rested for the last match as England had already sealed their passage to the knock-out stage. In the semi-final against Sweden, he conceded three goals in the second half as the match ended 3–3 after extra time but he made up for it by saving a penalty and scoring another as England won 5–4 on penalties. However he was suspended for the final[43] after being controversially yellow-carded for leaving his line prematurely during penalty’s.

Having been a regular in the England U21 squad, Joe Hart was called up by Fabio Capello to the full England squad for the friendly matches against USA and Trinidad and Tobago. An unused substitute against USA, he made his senior international debut against Trinidad and Tobago. He came on at half time for David James with England 2–0 up, eventually running out 3–0 winners.

Capello named Hart in his provisional 30-man squad for the 2010 World Cup. Hart played the second half of both of England’s warm-up games, replacing Robert Green against Mexico and James against Japan, and kept a clean sheet in each case. All three goalkeepers, Hart, Green and James, were included in the final 23-man selection.

England manager Roy Hodgson named Hart in his UEFA Euro 2012 squad. He played in England’s second warm up friendly against Belgium at Wembley keeping a clean sheet as England won 1–0. In the European Championships he played a key role in England getting to the quarter-finals. His confident demeanour was refreshing and made the most saves of any goalkeeper in the tournament with nineteen. However, Hart played a key role in England’s quarter final defeat to Italy, when he was beaten by a panenka shot in the penalty shootout. The Italian player had stated that Hart’s antics led to him thinking that “he had to get off his high horse”, and subsequently demoralised the English team.

On 6 February 2013, Hart saved a penalty kick and the subsequent follow up shot from Ronaldinho in a friendly match against Brazil at Wembley Stadium. This double save proved to be crucial in helping England win the match 2–1, and thereby securing their first win over Brazil for 23 years.

Hart made his competitive international debut in September 2010, and is now recognised as England’s first-choice goalkeeper

Ben Foster
Age: 31
Caps: 6

While playing for Wrexham on loan from Stoke, Foster was spotted by Manchester United manager Alex Ferguson. United had been struggling for several years to replace former goalkeeper Peter Schmeichel, and Ferguson decided to move for the young Foster, making a bid of £1 million for the player which Stoke agreed to.

Foster was sent on a season-long loan to Watford. Watford manager Aidy Boothroyd claimed that “he’s better than current Manchester United goalkeeper Edwin van der Sar” and believes that “he is going to be the best goalkeeper in the world. Manchester United manager Ferguson suggested that Foster would succeed Van der Sar as first-choice keeper at United and eventually replace Paul Robinson as “England’s next goalkeeper.” Foster helped Watford reach the Premier League by beating Leeds United 3–0 in the Championship play-off final. Foster was recalled to Manchester United where he saw limited action and a number of injuries.

In 2010, Following speculation that United were in the market for a new goalkeeper to replace the soon-to-retire Edwin van der Sar, Foster signed a new four-year contract with the club. Alex Ferguson commented that Manchester United “genuinely see Foster as a successor to Edwin van der Sar”.

With Van der Sar injured for the first two months of the 2009–10 season, Foster was given the opportunity to nail down the number one shirt in the 2009 FA Community Shield defeat to Chelsea, where his mistakes led to two Chelsea goals and made no saves in the penalty shootout. Foster continued to play in the League, starting with the opening day victory over Birmingham City. In wins against Arsenal and Manchester City, Foster received heavy criticism for massive errors that led to opposition goals. Manager Alex Ferguson stated that he believes in Foster’s abilities and potential; however, eight days later, Foster was again criticised for a mistake which led to a Sunderland goal in a 2–2 draw, and left out of the England squad the next day with bruised ribs. He was displaced from the first team in Van der Sar’s absence by Tomasz Kuszczak, and on occasion, reserve goalkeeper Ben Amos took Foster’s place on the substitutes bench. Foster started his first game for three months against West Ham in February 2010, keeping a clean sheet in a 3–0 victory.

After accepting that in order to play regularly he needed to leave Manchester, whether on loan or permanently, Foster signed a three-year contract with Premier League club Birmingham City.

Foster joined Premier League club West Bromwich Albion on loan in 2011 and permanently signed with West Brom in 2012. After a series of impressive performances throughout the 2013-14 season, Foster’s impressive form for the club has seen him called up to the 2014 England world cup squad, becoming the first West Bromwich Albion player to represent England in a world cup squad since Jeff Astle in 1970.

Fraser Forster
Age: 26
Caps: 1

Fraser Forster started his career with Newcastle United and had brief loan spells with Stockport County and Bristol Rovers. He then spent a successful season on loan at Norwich City, helping the club win the League One title and promotion to the Championship. Forster then joined Celtic on loan, and helped them win the Scottish Cup. He eventually became a permanent squad member in 2012. Forster has won many plaudits for his performances at Celtic and holds the Scottish Premier League record of 1,256 minutes without conceding a goal. Recently former Ireland International Packy Bonner said that Forster has the potential to be the best keeper to ever play for Celtic.

Forster received his first and only cap last year.