Six superstars who could have played for England - including Leeds-born Erling Haaland

Six superstars who could have played for England - including Leeds-born Erling Haaland,England could've had an alternate selection of superstars in their 2022 Qatar World Cup squad - including Leeds-born Erling Haaland and even Wales icon Gareth Bale

Six superstars who could have played for England – including Leeds-born Erling Haaland

It's been 56 years since Bobby Moore walked up the famous steps at the original Wembley Stadium to receive the Jules Rimet trophy from Queen Elizabeth II.

English football's crowning moment is still etched into the minds of every football fan on these shores – even if they weren't born. That moment is made all the more nostalgic by the long and winding list of failures that have since broken the hearts of the Three Lions faithful.

With all those false dawns – the list of players who could've helped England end that trophy drought won't be a sight for sore eyes. Daily Star Sport has looked at six players who might've been an England hero in another lifetime.

Erling Haaland

Norway's forward Erling Braut Haaland (R) celebrates scoring during the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 qualification Group G football match between Norway and Gibraltar in Oslo, on September 7, 2021 — Erling Haaland was born in Leeds (Image: HAKON MOSVOLD LARSEN/NTB/AFP via Getty Images)

Erling Haaland has taken England by storm – appearing to find the net with ease for Manchester City on a week-by-week basis.

And he could have been doing it in an England jersey – with the Premier League's latest megastar being born in Leeds, thanks to his dad representing the Peacocks. And Haaland's love affair with West Yorkshire doesn't end there.

Haaland admitted, as a youngster, his dream is to win England's top flight with Leeds, and he's been spotted in club merch on numerous occasions.

Would you like to have seen any of these players pull on an England shirt? Let us know in the comments section below.

Gareth Bale

Gareth Bale has made it clear over the past decade that Wales is always first and foremost in his football career.

However, Bale could have represented the Three Lions, with his grandmother being born in England. But there was never any chance of Bale playing for his great rivals, as his agent revealed earlier this year: "If he gets to the World Cup with Wales, I think that will be his crowning glory.

"From the first day I met him and his father, he said to us how special Wales was. When we spoke to him, he had the possibility to play for England. He said, 'Never say that again if you want to be my agent!'."

Simone Perrotta

There's a statue in Ashton, outside the Tameside Stadium, it features Sir Geoff Hurst, Jimmy Armfield OBE, and Simone Perrotta: the town's three World Cup winners.

Perrotta, a midfielder who went on to play for Juventus and Roma, won the World Cup with Italy in 2006. However, he was born, and spent his early years, in the small market town just east of Manchester.

Ashton council had tried to invite Perrotta to the opening of the statue, but they couldn't find a way to contact the World Cup winner. As a result, Perrotta was blissfully unaware of the statue until some years later – when his uncle informed him.

Mikel Arteta

In the late 2000s, Mikel Arteta pursued British citizenship in the hopes that he could represent the Three Lions on the international stage, after being constantly snubbed by Spain.

England and Arteta were both working towards Arteta switching nationalities. But FIFA stopped the move in its tracks when they pointed out an obscure rule that stated Arteta must have held British citizenship when he played Under 16s football for Spain.

The same rule also stopped Carlo Cudicini from being able to join the England fold.

Jamal Musiala

Jamal Musiala was born in Germany to a Nigerian father and a German mother – but he spent the majority of his childhood in London.

Musiala even progressed through the ranks of English sides, firstly Southampton and then Chelsea, where his talents were on the radar of the FA. The youngster represented England throughout his youth career, but elected for Germany when it came to the senior side.

Musiala has since moved to Germany with his club side too, and he's now a regular for Bayern Munich.

Louis Saha

After spending 13 years in England, Sven Goran Eriksson approached Louis Saha with the possibility of switching to England.

Saha debated the offer, but he concluded: "Had I chosen to go ahead, I would never have been able to play for France, which in my heart of hearts did not feel right. And the idea of not playing well for England and having to put up with insults did not appeal!"

The Frenchman was eventually called up or Les Blues in 2004, and he went on to have a decent international career.