What happened to Gareth Southgate's first England XI

Next month will mark eight years since Gareth Southgate's first match at the helm of the national team, after the then Under-21s coach stepped up as interim boss following Sam Allardyce's one-game tenure in charge. 

Southgate might no longer be manager, but another England U21 boss has stepped into the main job, albeit on an interim basis, in the form of Lee Carsley. 

Tasked with overseeing England's 2018 World Cup qualifying match against Malta in October 2016, Southgate chose a strong starting XI that bares little to no resemblance to the team that Carsley will field against the Republic of Ireland on Saturday night. 

Only John Stones remains from the side that started that game in Carsley's first selection, though the likes of Kyle Walker, Marcus Rashford and Jordan Henderson are still available for selection.  

Sportsmail examines the fortunes of the players that marked Southgate's debut.  

JOE HART

England's No 1 goalkeeper had a Euro 2016 campaign to forget, strewn with calamitous errors that arguably played a role in England's ignominious exit. 

But with a lack of strong competition from the Three Lions' goalkeeping contingent, Hart kept his place despite fumbles against Wales and Iceland still looming large in England's memory. 

The four-time Premier League Golden Glove winner was undergoing a loan spell at Torino in the 2016-17, and was never to return permanently to parent club Manchester City, as he was sent out on loan to West Ham a season before moving on from the Cityzens. 

Spells at Burnley and Tottenham gave him little to shout about, but he had a career resurgency at Celtic. 

Hart was a regular starter for a side that won three Scottish titles, two Scottish Cups, and two Scottish league cups - before he retired from football at the end of last season. 

The goalkeeper is now showing promise that he can have a successful career in the world of punditry. 

KYLE WALKER 

The speedy full back has gone on to become one of the best in his position in world football and has achieved an incredible level of success at Manchester City.

He was a constant presence at right-back during Southgate's tenure, as the manager stuck with the more defensively-sound Walker over the more attacking Trent Alexander-Arnold and the injury plagued Reece James.  

Walker was the only England player selected in the Euro 2024 Team of the Tournament, though fans of the Three Lions would point out that he had a difficult tournament and was exposed for both goals in the final.

He has beenleft out of Carsley's first England squad though it would be a surprise if we have seen the last of him for the Three Lions. 

GARY CAHILL

The former Chelsea captain earned 61 caps during his playing career for England and even took up the armband on occasion. 

Southgate continued to call upon the player in his early tenure, but by the 2018 World Cup, Cahill had fallen down the pecking order – travelling to Russia but only featuring in England's dead rubber against Belgium.

A year later, Cahill left Stamford Bridge after making just nine appearances under then-coach Maurizio Sarri, signing a two-year contract to move to Crystal Palace to play under former England boss Roy Hodgson. 

Cahill moved to Bournemouth in 2021 where he played a big part in the first-half of a promotion-winning campaign to the Premier League. 

He lost his place after the loan signing of Nat Phillips from Liverpool and was released in the summer of 2022 - before retiring in November of that year. 

Beyond his punditry duties for broadcasters such as the BBC and NBC Sports, Cahill has also taken part in charity games including Soccer Aid earlier this year. 

Almost a copy and paste from Walker, except unlike the full-back, Carsley has stuck with Stones in his squad.

He is the only one surviving from Southgate's first squad, though Walker can't be written off, and the likes of Jordan Henderson and Marcus Rashfordalso stand a chance. 

Stones has 79 caps for England and it will likely be some time before he is left out of the squad unless through injuries.  

RYAN BERTRAND

The former Chelsea fullback scored the only goal of his international career during Southgate's first fixture in charge, but that bright spark failed to ignite an England career that never really got off the ground. Bertrand was called up for the last time a year later at the age of 28. 

Bertrand had a similarly inconsistent time at Chelsea, before finding his groove with a loan move to Southampton in 2014. The player was named in the PFA's Team of the Year in 2015, the same year he signed a four-and-a-half-year deal. 

A new five-year deal was signed in 2016 but the Saints failed to renew his contract upon its expiration in the summer of 2021. 

Moving north to Leicester on a two-year contract, after initial inclusion in the Foxes' Community Shield win over City that summer, Bertrand struggled for playing time.  

His contract expired in the summer of 2023, and he would announce his retirement from football a year later.  

JORDAN HENDERSON 

Little would have seen the success that was on the horizon for Jordan Henderson when he was included in Southgate's first XI.

He lifted the Champions League for Liverpool, before becoming the first player from the club to lift the Premier League trophy a year later - the first league triumph in three decades. 

Henderson was a regular for Southgate's side, or at least he was, until his surprising move to join Steven Gerrard at Al-Ettifaq in the summer of 2023.

The 34-year-old quickly came to realise that the move didn't suit him, and joined Ajax in the following January transfer window. 

Henderson still plays for a big European club, but given he is out of the spotlight in the Eredivisie, given that he is in his mid-30s and with the talent England have in midfield, it will be tough for him to win a place back in the squad.  

DELE ALLI

Alli's career has come to represent the ultimate cautionary tale for talented young England players. After winning the PFA Young Player of the Year in the 2015-16 and 2016-17 seasons, the former Spurs star was heralded as the future of English football. 

Southgate relied heavily on Alli during England's 2018 World Cup campaign, but as his club form spiralled, so did opportunities to step out for his country. His last run-out under the manager came in England's Nations League third-place play off against Switzerland in June 2019, a 0-0 draw won on penalties. 

Most comfortable under former manager Mauricio Pochettino, Alli faltered under subsequent Spurs managers and moved to Everton on a free transfer in 2022. 

A change of scenery did little for the player's prospects, and he took up a loan move to Turkish Super Lig club Besiktas at the start of the 2022-23 season. 

However his form continued to struggle, and at the end of the season he confronted mental health issues relating to his troubled childhood during an emotional interview with Gary Neville. 

Alli's contract with Everton expired this summer, and though there had been talk of a new deal with the Toffees, he still finds himself without a club.  

WAYNE ROONEY 

After scoring his then-record 53rd international goal at Euro 2016, many suspected Rooney would retire from international duty, but Southgate continued to call upon the Everton and Manchester United legend with some frequency. 

Turning down the opportunity for a call-up in Russia, Rooney played his farewell fixture in November 2018 against the USA at Wembley. The same year, the No 10 had seized a move to the MLS after a year-long return to boyhood club Everton, and spent two years at DC United before taking up a player-manager role at Derby County. 

As manager from midway through the 2020-21 season, Rooney rose to the occasion when the relegation-threatened side were handed a 12-point deduction after going into administration. But after a laudable resurgence of form, the task proved too much and the club was sent down to League One. 

Having failed to secure promotion for the club amidst their continuing financial struggles, Rooney resigned in June 2022, and later returned to the States to manage DC United. 

A year later he was surprisingly named as Birmingham City boss, but he only lasted 83 days in the job.  

During his time off he joined EA Sports FC Pro Club Girth N Turf - founded by YouTubers Angry Ginge and Yung Filly. 

He left those who watched their videos surprised by calling the first of the two founders a 'ginger ****' in a light-hearted jab.

After doing punditry duties during Euro 2024, he returned to management with Championship side Plymouth - who sit inside the relegation zone after their opening four games.  

THEO WALCOTT 

The former Arsenal wunderkind's imperfect form against Malta played a role in calling time on Walcott's England career, after missing out on selection for both the 2014 World Cup and the 2016 Euros campaign due to injury and a lack of match fitness. 

Southgate informed Walcott that he would not be part of his England World Cup plans on the player's 28th birthday, with the forward receiving his 47th and final cap against Spain in an earlier friendly. 

After falling out of favour at Arsenal, where he had enjoyed success since 2004, Walcott moved north to Everton in January 2018. He was sent on loan to his boyhood club Southampton in 2020, and later joined the club on a two-year deal in 2021. 

Walcott enjoyed a small resurgence of form as Southampton's battle against relegation last year, scoring his first goal in two years against Tottenham in what fans teased was a rediscovery of his Arsenal roots. 

The 35-year-old retired from football last year after a career in which he made 563 appearances. 

DANIEL STURRIDGE 

Sturridge was another of England's casualties as new broom Southgate sought to refresh the squad before the 2018 World Cup.  The former Chelsea player still had a role to play at Liverpool, where he stayed until 2019 – save for a six-month loan to West Bromwich Albion in 2018 – but his form and consistency was checkered with injuries. 

The former Chelsea player still had a role to play at Liverpool, where he stayed until 2019 – save for a six-month loan to West Bromwich Albion in 2018 – but his form and consistency was checkered with injuries. 

Before a move to Super Lig side Trabzonspor in 2019, Sturridge was received a six-week ban due to breaching betting rules, and this was later followed by a four-month ban in 2020 following a mutually-agreed exit from the Turkish club. 

After a spell on the sidelines, a much-touted debut in the A-League for Perth Glory called Sturridge to Australia in October 2021. But the move never got off the ground, and he was released nine months later having started just one game. 

Sturridge never officially retired from football but appears to be done with the game as he spends his time on punditry duty, both officially for broadcasters like Sky Sports, and unofficially, on his colourful TikTok account. 

JESSE LINGARD 

Lingard's international career at first blossomed under his new manager, with the then-United man making his debut in Southgate's opener and later starting five of England's seven matches in the Three Lions' World Cup campaign. 

Dwindling form at Manchester United, where the forward had played since 2011 but endured loan spells at Leicester, Birmingham, Brighton and Derby, contributed to some time out of the England squad. 

But after finding his shooting boots on loan at West Ham, Lingard made his way back into the squad ahead of the Euro 2020 campaign in early 2021. 

Ultimately, Lingard missed out on being part of the slimmed-down 26-man playing squad after being named provisionally, and failed to secure a permanent move to the Hammers, where he had found form during his six-month loan. 

He had a brief spell at Nottingham Forest during the 2022-23 season, and after a long period away from the game, joined South Korean side FC Seoul earlier this year. 

Beyond football, Lingard founded clothing range, JLingz, in 2018 – in a move that was widely mocked by former players Gary Neville and Roy Keane as being a 'nonsense' distraction – and has since expanded into e-sports representation, launching JLingz Esports in 2021. 

And those that made the bench... 

Chris Smalling has failed to start for England since 2017 but has impressed during his five-year stint with Roma. However, that stint came to an end this summer as he joined Saudi Pro League side Al Fayha. 

Luton's Andros Townsend, Everton's Michael Keane, and Man United's third-choice goalkeeper Tom Heaton were three more members of the squad that failed to secure many more caps under Southgate. 

Leicester talisman Jamie Vardy and Danny Rose both made the trip to Russia but failed to find their place in Southgate's subsequent plans, with the latter retiring following a brief spell with non-league side Cleethorpes Town. 

Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain was linked with a Premier League return this summer but the former Arsenal and Liverpool man currently remains at Turkish side Besiktas. 

Finally, West Ham's Michail Antonio, despite being called up again by the manager in March 2017, later transferred his allegiances to Jamaica, and has since made 18 appearances for the Reggae Boyz. 

Players who still hope to return to the England squad in the future are Manchester United star Marcus Rashford and Bayern Munich's Eric Dier - though both seem to have up-hill challenges to get themselves back into the fold. 

Meanwhile, for those wondering of Harry Kane's whereabouts at the time, he was out of Southgate's first squad with an ankle injury.