PIC & MIX!

Jord & co go from lower leagues to top of World

THE unlikely lads were not thinking about World Cup semi-finals four years ago.

Nor was anyone dreaming of Jordan Pickford becoming an England World Cup hero in 2014, after he had shipped six goals against Preston, four against Peterborough and three against Wolves, keeping just one clean sheet in his final six games as a Carlisle United loanee.

Dele Alli’s diary was just as uninspiring that year. As an MK Dons player he faced Coventry on April 5, Crawley on April 12 and Port Vale six days later before his season finished with a draw at Rotherham and a 3-1 win over Leyton Orient.

Not quite the exotic company of Tunisia, Panama, Belgium, Colombia, Sweden or Croatia. But he still had to contend with Harry Maguire and his Sheffield United team-mates on March 1 that year – Maguire helping the Blades keep a clean sheet en route to a 1-0 win at Stadium MK.

Further north, John Stones was building up to the finals in Brazil by getting to know Roberto Martinez at Everton, the future

Belgium manager who would deny England a third-place finish at the 2018 World Cup.

A year earlier, prior to his 19th birthday, he had played 28 games for hometown club Barnsley.

No one believed this trio would be carrying the hopes of the nation on their shoulders just four years later.

And when Harry Kane was scoring just twice in 15 games for Leicester City in 2013 – which is two more than he got in four games for Norwich – did anyone seriously think he would mature into an England captain and Golden Boot winner?

Certainly not Harry Redknapp (above).

The former Spurs boss knew all about Kane during his days at White Hart Lane and while he did not make the breakthrough under his watch, Redknapp admired his attitude.

He said: “I didn’t see Harry becoming the best centre-forward in the world, which is what he has become. I’m saying centre-forward, I’m not saying the best player, I’m not saying he’s Messi, Ronaldo or whatever, but as an out-and-out striker, the leader of the line, there is no one you’d swap him