Four West Ham United players who have been cruelly overlooked by England

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West Ham have had a host of brilliant English players represent their club through the years, but recently it seems England aren’t interested.

West Ham United’s Michail Antonio celebrates scoring their first goal

It seems that if you want to play for England, West Ham United is not the place to be, as Hammers past and present have been unfairly looked over by the Three Lions in recent years.

Even out of the current crop, despite playing superbly, Aaron Cresswell has only been given one solitary England cap, while Andy Carroll – despite excellent form – hasn’t played for England in four years.

Here are four players who have represented West Ham at the peak of their careers, yet never pulled on that England shirt in a full international match.

Michail Antonio

We’ll start with one from the current crop. How Antonio is yet to play for England is genuinely baffling, despite being included in several squads. The 27-year-old has scored 17 Premier League goals in 55 outings – with six assists – despite being a winger who at times has been forced into fullback roles. The powerful wideman is lethal in the air, incredibly skilful, a man mountain of strength and incredibly quick, yet – so far, at least – his services have bizarrely been overlooked by England. There’s still time for this to change at least, and it would be deservedly so, as well.

West Ham’s Kevin Nolan during training

Kevin Nolan

Irrespective of how the current Notts County manager performed in his career, he was always overlooked by England – and that didn’t change for Nolan at West Ham. In a five year spell, the midfielder – towards the end of his career – scored 31 in 157 for the Hammers, and holds the unwanted record for the most amount of Premier League appearances without an England cap. While it would’ve been unlikely for Nolan to find a way in, given his form at West Ham, he should have been in serious contention – but alas, it wasn’t to be.

West Ham United’s Mark Noble in action

Mark Noble

An expert penalty taker and over 400 games played for the Hammers – where Noble’s consistently performed well above average – hasn’t been enough to see the 29-year-old break into the England side. It seems strange that Noble has been overlooked, even for the friendlies and despite impressing as ever, a host of England managers have opted against using the central midfielder. Noble does still have age on his side to an extent, and given England’s lack of strength in central midfield, it is possible for him to finally get a run out with the national side, but it isn’t looking promising.

West Ham’s Nigel Reo Coker celebrates the victory

Nigel Reo-Coker

This one is somewhat more understandable given the sublime options England had in central midfield, but there was a time where Reo-Coker was simply outstanding for West Ham, to the point it seemed absurd not to give him a run out in a friendly at the very least. After signing from Wimbledon in 2004, Reo-Coker was a mainstay for West Ham right up until his £8.5m move to Aston Villa in 2007, as reported by BBC Sport, making 142 appearances in all competitions for the Hammers. However, despite form good enough to warrant a big money transfer, Reo-Coker was overlooked by England, and never represented the first team.