During this international break, Ashley Cole has had to wait for his century of caps for the 3 lions due to an ankle injury sustained during Chelsea’s Super Cup defeat in Monaco. The full back is stuck on 98 caps and would have celebrated his ton previously had England reached the final of Euro 2012.This injury has led him to miss the demolition of Moldova and will see him sidelined once again against for the visit of the Ukraine on Tuesday evening at Wembley.
Sven Goran-Eriksson handed Cole his debut way back in 2001. He fielded the then Arsenal youngster in a 3-1 victory away in Albania. Since then, Cole has been a mainstay in the starting XI through each and every major tournament including appearing in the all-star team of the tournament of Euro 2004.
Kenny Sansom previously held the record for most caps for a full back at 86. Ashley Cole has blown this well out of the water and looks to be one of the first names on Roy Hodgson’s team sheet for Rio.
Love him or loath him as Chelsea player, Ashley Cole has been an inspirational figure at international level and has been a role model both to his peers and to aspiring full backs since his introduction 11 years ago.
See this video around the 58 seconds mark for some top drawer Cole defending for England.
With Leighton Baines impressing on his first start for England last Friday.. Has Cole’s hope of joining club 100 faded entirely?
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