Pompey most capped players – the top ten

Every schoolboy should know that Pompey’s most capped international player is the great Jimmy Dickinson having played 48 times for England between May 1949 and November 1956.

Now thanks to some sterling efforts from the Pompey History Society’s Mike Whittle we now have a complete up to date record of ALL international players.  It is our intention to make this record a searchable database in the near future - watch this space! 

So the question is who are the other players in the top ten of most international caps while playing for Pompey?

Number 2 - Alan McLoughlin 34

 Alan who sadly passed away from Cancer on 4 May 2021 played for the Republic of Ireland 34 times during his seven years at Fratton Park.  Alan made 42 appearances for  his adopted nation and will always be remembered for the goal that sent Ireland to the 1994 World Cup Finals in the USA.

Alan had been selected for both England B and Ireland B in 1990 chose Ireland and became a cult hero both in Ireland but also Pompey where he famously scored the winner in the 1992 FA Cup Quarter Final win over Nottingham Forest.

Number 3 - Fitzroy Simpson 32

Simpson born in Bradford on Avon played his international football for Jamaica alongside Paul Hall.  Fitzroy signed from Manchester City 1995 and played over 150 games for Pompey until his departure in 1999.  He made hi Jamaica debut in 1997 in Antigua and also played all three games in 1998 World Cup Finals

Number 4 – Paul Hall 30

Paul was another Manchester born player who adopted his family connections and played for Jamaica.  The Reggae Boyz reached the 1998 World Cup Finals with Paul playing in all three games.  Paul’s international career at Pompey lasted just twelve months but in that time he played 26 times.

Number 5 - Nico Kranjcar and Mart Poom 24

Nico was the Croation wonder boy when he signed for Pompey in 2006 and was a member of the 2008 Cup winning side.

Seen in his own country as the next Robert Prosinecki he famously scored the opening goal for Croatia at Wembley which prevented England qualifying for Euro 2008.

Mart Poom played just 7 games for Pompey in 1994/95/96 seasons but won 24 of his Estonian national side in that period.  Mart would win 120 caps for Estonia and is now national goal keeping coach.

Number 7 – Kanu 23

The man who will forever have a place in Pompey folklore scoring the winner in the 2008 FA Cup  final. He also scored again the November 2008 meeting with AC Milan at Fratton Park.

In total Kanu would play 86 times for Nigeria between 1994 and 2011.

Number 8 Nadir Belhadj and Mladen Rudonja 22

Belhadj joined Pompey in 2008 and played for two season playing his last game as a substitute in the 2010 FA Cup Final.  The Algerian international made 55 times for his country 22 of them coming while a Pompey player

Rudonja was a Slovenian international winger who during his stay at Fratton Park (2000-2002) would play more games for his country than his club making just 18 appearances   He also scored a goal to take his side to a major tournament netting in a 1-1 draw with Romania in 2002 and taking his side to the World Cup final.

Number 10 - Eoin Hand 20

Eoin Hand takes us back to a barren period for Pompey players making international appearances. Dublin born Hand signed from Drumcondra for £8,000 in 1969 and impressed his home nation so much that he was given his debut against Czechoslovakia in May 1969, in doing so he became Pompey’s first international for over ten years.

Eoin would go on to play over 300 times for Pompey and all his 20 caps came when he was a Fratton Park player and he would go on to manage the national side between 1980 and 1985.