If selected, as expected, by Roy Hodgson on Tuesday in England’s World Cup qualifier against Ukraine in Kiev, veteran midfielder, Frank Lampard, will be the third English player in less than 11 months to notch up a 100th cap. He will join the likes of skipper Steven Gerrard (November 2012, Sweden vs. England) and long-standing left-back Ashley Cole (February 2013, England vs. Brazil) in the exclusive club of centurions. This feat will make him only the 8th Englishman in history to wear the Three Lions jersey hundred times or more at the senior level.

Frank began his journey with the England national team way back in October 1999 in a friendly win over Belgium. He was overlooked by then-manager Sven-Goran Eriksson for the FIFA World Cup that was to follow 3 years later. Not to be deterred, Lampard bounced back to earn a place in England’s EURO’04 squad and finished the tournament as one of his country’s four representatives in the team of the tournament, scoring three goals in four games.

He went on to play for England in their ill-fated 2006 FIFA World Cup campaign in Germany where he played in every minute of England’s games without scoring a goal. Along with the rest of England’s squad, Lampard had no part to play in the 2008 European Championships which was later won by Spain, as the Three Lions failed to progress to the tournament courtesy of an embarrassing 2-3 loss to Croatia at the new Wembley stadium.

Frank’s most memorable – perhaps most controversial – moment in an England shirt came in their heavy 4-1 defeat to Germany in the round-of-16 of the 2010 FIFA World Cup in which he smashed a powerful shot spectacularly against the crossbar from the edge of the 18-yard box. The ball was clearly over the line by some inches, but it was not spotted by the referee or his assistant and as a result it was not given as a goal. Had the goal been given, it would have tied the game at 2-2. The decision led to FIFA’s introduction of the goal-line technology in high-profile football matches all over the world.

Lampard is currently England’s longest serving player and one of the country’s most decorated players of all-time. He is a winner of 10 major trophies including one UEFA Champions League, one Europa League, three English Premier Leagues and four FA Cups. The two major honours missing from Frank’s CV are the FIFA World Cup and the European Championships.

In 2005, he finished as runner-up to Ronaldinho in both the FIFA World Player of the Year and Ballon d’Or awards. So far, he has scored 29 times for England which makes him the highest scoring midfielder in the English national team. Only Wayne Rooney (36) has scored more in the current national set up.

However, the crowning success in Lampard’s stellar international career would be to step out onto the field in Kiev to represent his country for the 100th time. If Lampard, Ashley Cole and Steven Gerrard play together on Tuesday, it would be the first time in English football history that three centurions are on the pitch at the same time in a competitive fixture.

http://observerreports.com/2013/09/england-celebrate-hero-frank-lampard-veteran-earns-100th-cap-tuesday/