Trafford joins elite list of English City goalkeepers | OneFootball

James Trafford’s senior England debut on Friday evening makes him the sixth goalkeeper to win a Three Lions cap while at the Club.

Men's Team

Congratulations James: Trafford set for senior England debut

The 23-year-old’s predecessors include Jim Mitchell, Frank Swift, Joe Corrigan, David James and Joe Hart.

Trafford is the first City goalkeeper to feature for England since 2017 and becomes the second youngest City shot stopper for the Three Lions.

To celebrate the latest achievement in the Academy graduate’s career, we take a look at those who came before him…

JAMES MITCHELL

Our first Three Lions goalkeeper was James Mitchell, who was better known as Jim or Fred.

At 28 years and 339 days, he was City’s first goalkeeper to represent England in what was his one and only appearance for his country.

Mitchell featured in a 3-1 win over Ireland on 22 October 1924, in which he was remembered for wearing his glasses, the only man to do so for the Three Lions.

For Club meanwhile, Mitchell represented City from 1922-1926 before retiring a year later.

FRANK SWIFT

It wasn’t until 1946 when City saw a ‘keeper in between the sticks for England again.

The legendary Frank Swift earned his first cap on 28 September, a 7-2 triumph over Northern Ireland, during the latter stage of his City career, which saw him win the FA Cup, First Division and Community Shield.

He totalled nine clean sheets during his two-and-a-half-year stint as England’s goalkeeper and went on to earn 19 caps for country, making his final appearance for the national side on 18 May 1949, a 4-1 win against Norway.

A towering figure in City’s pre and post war history, Frank went into sports journalism after his playing days were over and tragically lost his life in the 1958 Munich Air Disaster.

JOE CORRIGAN

Aged 27 years and 192 days, Joe Corrigan was our third England goalkeeper, making his Three Lions debut as a substitute in a 3-2 friendly win over Italy in New York on 28 May 1976.

A bona fide City legend, Corrigan, who recently received an MBE for Charitable Services, played over 600 games for City across his 16 seasons in Blue and sits second in City’s all time appearance list.

During that time, he went on to win nine caps in total for the Three Lions, his final international appearance coming on 2 June 1982 in a 1-1 draw with Iceland.

DAVID JAMES

David James was the only goalkeeper given his debut by Glenn Hoddle during his time in charge of the national side. He kept a clean sheet in England’s 2-0 win over Mexico on 29 March 1997, aged 26.

He went on to total 53 appearances for England, 21 of which were clean sheets, before his final outing aged 39 in June 2010.

JOE HART

Before Trafford, City’s most recent England representative between the sticks was Joe Hart.

Our most capped Three Lions goalkeeper, Hart made his debut in 2008. Aged 21 years and 43 days, he kept a clean sheet in a 3-0 win against Trinidad & Tobago.

He went on to become part of the England set-up for nine years, all of which was during his tenure at City. He played 348 times for the Club, winning two Premier League titles along with an FA Cup and two League Cups.

On the international stage, Hart won 75 caps before his final game for England in November 2017.

Everyone at Manchester City would like to congratulate James on making his international debut.