Things to Know:
Lampard was capped by England at youth level before making his under-21 debut on 13 November 1997 in a match against Greece. He played for the under-21 side from November 1997 to June 2000, and scored nine goals in 19 appearances, a mark bettered only by Alan Shearer and Francis Jeffers. He was capped once by England B, playing in a 2–1 home defeat to Chile on 10 February 1998. Lampard earned his first cap for England on 10 October 1999 in a 2–1 friendly win over Belgium, and scored his first goal on 20 August 2003 in a 3–1 win over Croatia. Lampard became only the eighth English player to earn his 100th England cap, doing so in a World Cup qualifier against Ukraine, on 10 September 2013.
Did you Know?
Widely regarded by pundits, managers, and teammates as one of the greatest midfielders of his generation, Lampard was an all-round and versatile box-to-box player, who was capable of playing anywhere in midfield; throughout his career he was deployed as a central midfielder, as an attacking midfielder, as a defensive midfielder, and even as a supporting striker on occasion. A hard-working player, with notable stamina and an ability to read the game, Lampard was also capable of functioning creatively and starting attacking plays after winning back possession, due to his technique, vision, and passing range. In addition to his creative and defensive midfield roles, Lampard also possessed a keen eye for goal, due to his ability to make attacking runs into the area, or produce accurate and powerful shots from distance. These attributes enabled him to maintain a prolific goalscoring record throughout his career, despite his deep playing position. Lampard was also an accurate set-piece and penalty kick taker.
