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Top 20 England players of all time - #3

Sports Mole's countdown of the top 20 England players of all time continues with number three - Stanley Matthews.

Stanley Matthews (54 caps, 11 goals)

English forward Stanley Matthews and French defender Roger Marche run after the ball during the soccer match between France and England 13 May 1955 © Getty Images

The first true football superstar, Stanley Matthews was the player fans flocked to see in England for more than three decades.

From his debut in 1932 to his eventual retirement at the grand old age of 50 in 1965, Matthews delighted supporters up and down the country with his trickery and mesmerizing wing play.

Indeed, the only thing as impressive as his quality was his longevity, with his England career spanning both sides of World War II from 1934 to 1957 - a record 23 years spent at international level before calling it a day at the age of 42.

Limited by the war, Matthews accrued a relatively low tally of 54 caps, scoring 11 goals during a period in which England were overtaken as the dominant force in world football.

At club level, Matthews remarkably spent 19 years with Stoke City in two spells either side of a 14-year stint at Blackpool, overall making 783 club appearances throughout his career.

As with Finney, trophies were few and far between for Matthews, but his most notable club success came with Blackpool in the 1953 FA Cup final - a game now known as the 'Matthews final' despite Stan Mortensen helping himself to a hat-trick in a thrilling 4-3 win over Bolton Wanderers.

Matthews did win nine British Home Championships during his lengthy England career, but his main accolades came on an individual level. The winger was the first ever recipient of the Ballon d'Or in 1956 - ahead of the likes of Alfredo Di Stefano, Raymond Kopa, Ferenc Puskas and Lev Yashin - while he also scooped the inaugural FWA Footballer of the Year award in 1948.

It was an award Matthews would win again 15 years later in 1963, and in 1965 he became the first and so far only footballer to be knighted for services to the game whilst still playing.

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