Euro 2016
Euro 2016 saw an explosion of talent from the bottom two divisions making a name for themselves on the big stage. That was in no small part due to the inclusion of Wales and Northern Ireland, who called up a host of players from teams set to feature in the third tier. Firstly, three ‘nearly men’.
Johnny Williams and Simon Church (MK Dons and Wales)
Again, a contentious involvement as MK Dons were relegated out of the Championship in 2016, so technically neither player was a Third Division player. Williams had been on loan at MK Dons and didn’t return, whilst Church himself had been out on loan at Aberdeen and joined Roda JC before kicking a ball. Just didn’t want MK fans picking me up on it!
Lee Hodson (MK Dons and Northern Ireland)
Hodson, like Williams and Church, was at MK Dons in the Championship when he got called up, and left them over the summer, moving to Rangers. Like Church, he had been on loan in the SPFL in the run-up to the tournament too. He failed to get any game time during the tournament.
George Williams (Gillingham and Wales)
Williams has spent time on loan at Gillingham in the 2015/16 season but was technically owned by Fulham. He was part of Wales’ squad but didn’t get any match action, instead watching from the bench as they made the semi-finals, going out to eventual winners Portugal.
Conor McLaughlin (Fleetwood and Northern Ireland)
Finally, we have the answer to a quiz question! Who was the first L1 or L2 player to start a European Championship game? It is current Sunderland man, Conor McLaughlin. He was on the books of Fleetwood Town when he appeared at full-back for Northern Ireland’s 1-0 defeat at the hands of Poland on June 12, 2016. Sadly, for him at least, he was dropped for their next group game against Ukraine and didn’t appear again.
Will Grigg (Wigan and Northern Ireland)
Will Grigg is quite a famous inclusion on the list, given how a chant about him went viral at the tournament. Will Grigg’s on fire caught the imagination of the world, whilst the striker was on the books of League One side Wigan Athletic. Technically, as they’d just been promoted, he was actually a Championship player, but it doesn’t matter anyway – despite the chants he didn’t kick a ball for Michael O’Neill’s side.
Roy Carroll (Notts County and Northern Ireland)
This is almost the answer to a quiz question; the only player from the Fourth Division of English football to be called up to represent his country at European Championship? Carroll was Notts County’s keeper in 2015/16, even appearing twice for Northern Ireland in friendlies in March and May. Sadly, he didn’t get a kick at the tournament and left The Magpies for Linfield over the summer.
Luke McCullough (Doncaster and Northern Ireland)
Like many of the others on the list, former Manchester United youngster McCullough was part of Northern Ireland’s squad, but didn’t get any actual game time. He spent six years at Doncaster Rovers and had appeared 75 times for them in the league prior to euro 2016. In the three years after he made just 20 appearances and now plays for Glentoran.
Johann Gudmundsson (Charlton and Iceland)
It is fair to say Iceland were the stars of Euro 2016, even though they were eliminated in the quarter-finals. The smallest nation ever to qualify, they famously knocked out England in the round of 16, leading to Roy Hodgson’s departure as manager. Gudmundsson became the second Third Division player to start a game when he appeared on June 14 in Iceland’s 1-1 draw with eventual champions Portugal.
He appeared in all four of their remaining matches too, having played 42 times for Charlton that season. He was also joint–highest assist-maker in the Championship during the 2015–16 season, and earned himself a move to Burnley in July following the tournament’s conclusion, where he has since amassed 112 Premier League appearances.