Today (Thursday, 23rd April) is St George's Day - the patron saint of England. To celebrate, we're looking at those to have represented the Three Lions, whilst also playing in the Red and Blue of Palace...
Palace have been represented in the Three Lions' squad for over a century now, with FOUR players in the England squad which reached the European Championship final in Germany back in 2024, more representation than any other club at the country's last major international tournament.
Starting with the very first Palace player to pull on the famous white jersey, let's take a look back at all the players to make the journey from South London to the national side...
Total England caps: 3
Chenery lined up for England in the first recognised international football match, facing Scotland in November 1872. The game took place at West of Scotland Cricket Club's ground, in Partick, and finished as a goalless draw, setting the tone for many an England-Scotland encounter over the next 150 years.
He was recalled for the rematch at the Kennington Oval in London, scoring England's fourth in a 4-2 win.
Caps won at Palace: 1
Total England caps: 1
The left-back became the first player in the club’s history to win an England cap when he played for the Three Lions in a 1914 British Home Championships international victory against Wales at Ninian Park.
It would prove to be England’s penultimate match before the outbreak of World War One, and during the conflict Colclough suffered a leg injury, speculated to have been picked up playing football for the British Army, or a gunshot wound.
Caps won at Palace: 1
Total England caps: 1
During the war, Newcastle United goalkeeper Alderson was based in Woolwich and guested for Palace in some wartime matches, before going on to sign for the club following its conclusion.
He went on to play over 200 times for the Glaziers, and his impressive form in the Second Division led to him receiving his solitary England cap in 1923 in a friendly against France in Paris, which ended in a 4-1 triumph for the Three Lions.
Caps won at Palace: 1
Total England caps: 11
The legendary Glaziers attacker was handed his first cap for his country by Walter Winterbottom despite playing for Palace in the third tier, and remains one of only five players to achieve this feat.
The 1-1 draw with Northern Ireland in the British Home Championships saw Budgie play alongside 1966 heroes Ray Wilson and Bobby Charlton, with the Manchester United legend scoring the hosts’ goal at Wembley.
Caps won at Palace: 4
Total England caps: 4
Another player who was capped despite playing in the Third Division, Taylor remains the first man in Palace’s history to have scored for England, marking his debut against Wales in 1976 with a goal, before netting against the same opposition his second match.
Ebere Eze would go on to match his achievement in March 2025, and Marc Guéhi would also notch in September of last year.
Taylor would appear twice more that year against Northern Ireland and Scotland in the Home Championships, with the Scots pipping their old rivals to the title in Taylor’s last international appearance.
Caps won at Palace: 9
Total England caps: 86
Once England’s most capped left-back before another former Palace man Ashley Cole surpassed his impressive haul, Sansom also made his debut against the Welsh three years after Taylor had, despite being the tender age of 20.
The game ended in a goalless draw, however Sansom would win eight more caps while in SE25, including two in Euro 1980, making him the first Eagle to represent England at a major tournament.
Caps won at Palace: 4
Total England caps: 33
After helping establish his name during the club’s golden period in the late 1980s and early 1990s, Wright was handed his first England cap by Graham Taylor when he partnered Gary Lineker up front against Cameroon at Wembley, in what resulted in a 2-0 win for the hosts.
He would come on as a sub in a World Cup qualifier against the Republic of Ireland the following month, and played twice on a summer tour of the Far East before moving to Arsenal.
Caps won at Palace: 9
Total England caps: 9
The Palace captain at the time enjoyed a run in the England side under Taylor, beginning with a debut against Turkey in a Euro 92 qualifier in Izmir.
Following that he played six times during a packed summer of international friendlies in 1991, including against New Zealand in Wellington where three Eagles started for the Three Lions, but his international career ended against France the following year.
Caps won at Palace: 5
Total England caps: 5
Another player to benefit from the tour of Asia and Australasia that summer, the winger won cap number one as a half-time sub in a 1-0 win against Australia in Sydney.
He would feature three more times on that trip, including lining up alongside Thomas and Wright against New Zealand, and won his final cap against World Cup holders Germany in August 1991 when he was replaced by future Eagle Paul Stewart.
Caps won at Palace: 1
Total England caps: 1
Taylor continued to look towards Selhurst Park to improve his aging squad, and called up Gray for the Euro 92 qualifier against Poland in November 1991.
The winger started the game in Poznan alongside Thomas, but with England trailing at the break and needing a point to secure their place at the finals in Sweden, he was sacrificed for Arsenal striker Alan Smith and never played international football again.
Caps won at Palace: 3
Total England caps: 23
After Thomas, Wright, Salako and Gray had been discarded, Taylor continued to have a Palace presence in his squad by selecting Nigel Martyn as back-up to Chris Woods.
The keeper was given a chance to show his credentials in a friendly against the CIS in Moscow as an 80th minute sub in a 2-2 draw, before starting a Euro 92 warm-up match against Hungary in Budapest which helped him seal his place in Taylor’s final 20-man squad, ahead of David Seaman.
Caps won at Palace: 2
Total England caps: 8
After 13 years without an England representative, a purple patch in front of goal helped force AJ into Sven-Goran Eriksson’s thoughts during the 2004/05 season.
In February 2005, he replaced Wayne Rooney as a 61st-minute sub in a goalless draw against Holland at Villa Park, and would go on tour to the USA the following summer, starting in a 2-1 win in Chicago before winning the rest of his caps at Everton.
Caps won at Palace: 1
Total England caps: 2
Having been tearing up Championship defences for the past few years, the Eagles’ strong start to the 2012/13 season saw the winger selected by Roy Hodgson for a friendly against Sweden in Stockholm. Wilf came on in the 85th minute during a 4-2 defeat for the Three Lions, with Zlatan Ibrahimovic scoring all the Swede’s goals.
Cap number two would come as a Manchester United player against Scotland the following year, before a switch of allegiances to Cote d'Ivoire for the remainder of his international career.
Caps won at Palace: 2
Total England caps: 13
Townsend was already a full England international when he signed for Crystal Palace in 2016, having made his debut three years earlier under Roy Hodgson in which he scored against Montenegro.
Caps won at Palace: 1
Total England caps: 4
Johnstone was part of the England squad to reach the final of the European Championships in 2021, having made his debut just before the tournament in a friendly against Romania.
He continued to be selected after moving to South London, keeping his fourth clean sheet in as many caps against Australia in October 2023, before injury ruled him out of contention for Euro 2024.
Caps won at Palace: 4
Total England caps: 22
Gallagher's scintillating form in South London in 21/22 - which would later earn him the club's Player of the Year award - saw him catch the eye of Gareth Southgate, making his debut in November 2021 in England's 10-0 win against San Marino.
He went on to become a regular in the England squad and travelled to the 2022 World Cup finals in Qatar, but is now fighting to reclaim his international status.
Caps won at Palace: 26
Total England caps: 27
After establishing himself as one of the Premier League's standout defenders, Guéhi became a regular under Gareth Southgate and played his way into a starting spot for the run to the final of Euro 2024.
He earned his 20th cap against Finland under interim boss Lee Carsley in October 2024 - with whom he was made captain of the Under-21s side - and scored his first goal for the Three Lions in September against Serbia whilst with the Eagles.
His 26 caps for the Three Lions whilst in South London marks the highest total of any senior player in Palace’s history. After departing for Manchester City in January, Guéhi captained his country for the first time at senior level in their recent defeat to Japan.
Caps won at Palace: 2
Total England caps: 2
Mitchell earned an England call-up in March 2022, making his debut against Switzerland as a second-half substitute for Luke Shaw.
Three days later, he added a second cap against Cote d'Ivoire.
Caps won at Palace: 12
Total England caps: 16
It was always going to be a matter of time before Eze played his way into Southgate's thinking, and the cruelest of setbacks - an achilles injury the day of his first call-up - did not keep him down for long. He made a long-awaited debut for his country against Malta in May 2023.
His first goal for the Three Lions would duly arrive in March 2025 - a superbly taken strike against Latvia, under new manager Thomas Tuchel, making him only the third-ever Crystal Palace player to score for England’s senior team; second in the club’s professional era; and first since Taylor against Wales, 49 years prior.
Caps won at Palace: 4
Total England caps: 4
Wharton's remarkable rise after his move from Championship Blackburn Rovers to the Premier League was capped by making his England debut in the lead up to the European Championships over summer, playing against Bosnia & Herzegovina at St James' Park.
The midfielder made his first senior England start in a 2-0 win over Albania in November 2025.
Caps won at Palace: 3
Total England caps: 4
Henderson made his England debut at Wembley against the Republic of Ireland in November 202, coming on as a substitute while still a Manchester United player.
His first appearance in an England shirt while representing Palace came in the October 2024 international break, starting under then-interim boss Lee Carsley against Finland in Helsinki.
He has since added two further caps, including a clean sheet in a 2-0 away win over Albania earlier this season – a result which saw England become the first European side to play at least six World Cup qualifiers and win them all without conceding.
