Five International Foxes Outings To Remember
With several from Craig Shakespeare’s squad hoping to add to their tally of caps this fortnight, LCFC.com looks back on some of the most memorable international outings by City players while they were still on the books at Filbert Street or King Power Stadium.
Gordon Banks
England 4-2 West Germany (AET)
World Cup Final, 30 July, 1966
One of the most iconic players to ever pull on a Leicester City shirt, Gordon Banks was a key figure in Sir Alf Ramsey’s fabled England squad of 1966, who sparked nationwide joy as they won the World Cup on home soil.
Remembered fondly for the “greatest save of all time” to deny Pelé in Mexico four years later, the Sheffield-born goalkeeper is a recognisable figure across the globe. He remains one of the most decorated and adored players in a rich tapestry of English shot-stoppers.
Banks, who left the Club to join Stoke City the following year, played every single minute of the 1966 World Cup, from the goalless opening day draw with Uruguay through to the historic 4-2 extra-time victory over Helmut Schön’s West Germany in the Final at Wembley.
When Banks conceded a penalty in the Semi-Final, scored by Portuguese great Eusébio, it was the first goal he had let through his grasp in 721 minutes of regular play, an English record. As Ramsey’s boys lifted the Jules Rimet Trophy on 30 July, 1966, it was clear that Banks was not only establishing himself as an England legend - but cementing his status as a Foxes icon too.
Muzzy Izzet
Brazil 1-0 Turkey
World Cup Semi-Final, 26 June, 2002
Wearing the less familiar ‘Mustafa’ on the back of his shirt, popular City midfielder Muzzy Izzet was sat on the bench, awaiting the call from manager Şenol Güneş, as Brazil led Turkey 1-0 in the 2002 World Cup Semi-Final in Saitama, Japan.
Below his name, the No. 13 was printed on Izzet’s shirt. In Turkey, 13 is considered a lucky number but, for the former Chelsea youth graduate, it didn’t feel like it after sitting out much of the competition in South Korea and Japan. In the 73rd minute, though, Güneş glanced over in Izzet’s direction.
He kept his instructions short, as the Foxes man only spoke English. “On the right,” he said, before gesticulating towards the pitch. After being away from his family for two months, Izzet’s moment had come. The commentators said, at a rough guess, that around 600 million people were watching around the world.
The Saitama Stadium is Japan’s largest venue with a capacity of over 60,000 and the midfielder from Filbert Street had been called upon to play in the biggest match of his career. Turkey ultimately lost the match 1-0 to eventual world champions Brazil courtesy of a moment of brilliance from Ronaldo. But for Izzet and the Blue Army, it was a proud moment to be savoured forever.
Frank Sinclair
Jamaica 0-1 Brazil
International friendly, 12 October, 2003
When the Walkers Stadium, now King Power Stadium, was built in 2002, the Club’s hierarchy had always intended for it to host showpiece occasions such as these, but for Frank Sinclair, the visit of Jamaica and Brazil to Leicester was a personal affair.
The defender’s last of his 28 caps came at the home of his club, Leicester City. A capacity crowd packed into the stadium, presenting a unique mix of colour and Caribbean/South American enthusiasm seldom witnessed at an English football ground before.
Carlos Alberto Parreira's Brazil were the most romanticised footballing side on the planet after breezing to the World Cup title in the summer of 2002. The starting XI had the answer why: Dida, Cafu, Lucio, Roque Junior, Roberto Carlos, Emerson, Kaka, Gilberto Silva, Ze Roberto, Rivaldo, Ronaldo.
Sinclair said goodbye to international football among some of the greatest players ever to grace a football pitch and, by doing it on Filbert Way, all of his family were in attendance to provide moral support. A trademark rocket from Carlos ultimately won the match 1-0.
Wes Morgan
Mexico 3-1 Jamaica
CONCACAF Gold Cup Final, 27 July, 2015
Despite playing almost every week for the Foxes the previous season, Wes Morgan found himself at Lincoln Financial Field, Philadelphia on 26 July, 2015 for the Gold Cup Final between his Jamaica side and Mexico.
The Mexicans would go on to win 3-1 in the United States. Morgan, though, had been instrumental to Jamaica’s charge to the Final and, in front of 70,000 spectators, the Nottingham-born centre back delivered a display typical of his work-rate and ability.
When Morgan returned to the United Kingdom shortly after, it wasn’t long before new City manager Claudio Ranieri called on his services for an opening day Premier League encounter with Sunderland, a 4-2 triumph at King Power Stadium.
Morgan had gone without a rest since the previous summer break but he would go onto to continue his remarkable run of successive starts to make 88 in total, a period that spanned across the Club’s stunning Premier League title triumph in May, 2016.
Andy King
Portugal 2-0 Wales
UEFA Euro 2016 Semi-Final, 6 June, 2016
In a story which shared similarities with Muzzy Izzet’s outing at the 2002 World Cup, City favourite Andy King's fairy tale journey from League 1 to Premier League champion entered a new chapter last summer when he represented Wales at UEFA Euro 2016.
The Foxes Academy graduate had been on the periphery of Chris Coleman’s squad but, whenever he was called upon, he always stepped up well. That gave Coleman the confidence to start King for a Semi-Final clash with Portugal on 6 July, 2016.
The Welsh had enchanted new supporters the world over during that summer, going further than England, Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland to sit one step away from a Final against host nation – and heavy favourites – France.
Their great adventure would end in heartbreak as former Manchester United pair Cristiano Ronaldo and Nani booked the Portuguese a date in Paris. Despite the final score, however, King performed magnificently that night in Lyon at the end of a monumental year for him personally.