England’s players will wear ‘legacy numbers’ on their shirts against Montenegro on November 14 to mark the nation’s 1,000th international match.
Every player to have represented England in the past 147 years will be given their own number. Former captains and members of the 1966 World Cup-winning team will be at Wembley Stadium to mark the occasion.
“To be involved in this game is a particularly poignant moment,” manager Gareth Southgate said. “It’s important we leave the shirt in a better place than when we found it.”
The legacy number system will run all the way from Robert Baker, the goalkeeper in the first international, to the most recent cap winner Tyrone Mings, at 1,244.
Southgate, who played for England between 1995 and 2004, has been given the number 1,071.
The Football Association said the legacy numbers would be printed underneath the national crest. The numbers will be retained in subsequent games, but will instead be printed inside the collar.
England’s cricket players also wear legacy numbers on their shirts as a chronological record of their first cap.
