International career
Lampard was first spotted by England U-21 manager Peter Taylor, and his under-21 debut came on 13 November 1997 in a match against Greece. He played for the under-21 side from November 1997 to June 2000, and scored nine goals, a mark bettered only by Alan Shearer andFrancis Jeffers.
Lampard earned his first cap for England on 10 October 1999 in a 2–1 friendly win over Belgium, and scored his first goal on 20 August 2003 in a 3–1 win over Croatia.
Euro 2004
He was bypassed for Euro 2000 and the 2002 World Cup, and had to wait until Euro 2004 to participate in his first international competition. England reached the quarter-finals with Lampard netting three goals in four matches. He scored against France and Croatia in the group stages, and in the quarter-final he equalised for England in the 112th minute against Portugal, bringing the scoreline to 2–2 but England lost on penalties. He was named in the team of the tournament by UEFA.[73]
Post Euro 2004
He became a regular in the squad following the retirement of Paul Scholes, and was voted England Player of the Year by fans in 2004 and 2005.[74][75] He was England's top-scorer in their 2006 World Cup qualifying campaign with 5 goals. He scored two crucial goals in the qualifiers, the first against Austria in a 1-0 win, and the second, the winning goal against Poland.[76][77]
2006 World Cup
In England's first game of the tournament vs Paraguay, Lampard was named Man of the Match as England won 1-0.[78] Though Lampard played every minute of England's 2006 World Cup matches, he went scoreless as England were eliminated in the quarterfinals by Portugal on penalties, and he was one of the three England players who missed their penalties, alongside Steven Gerrard andJamie Carragher.[79]
2010 World Cup and disallowed goal
In the round-of-16 match of the 2010 FIFA World Cup against Germany in the first half, Lampard had a shot at goal that bounced off the crossbar and from TV replays was clearly seen to cross the goal line. If counted, it would have tied the game 2–2. However, neither the referee nor the linesman saw it as a goal, and play was continued. In the second-half, Lampard hit the cross-bar again, with a 30 yard free-kick. The final score was a 4–1 win for Germany, eliminating England from the tournament.[80]
As England exited the 2010 FIFA World Cup, Lampard had already achieved the record of having made 37 shots on goal without scoring in a World Cup tournament, more than any other player since 1966.[81]
2007-2011
He scored in a 2–1 loss to Germany in a friendly at the new Wembley in 2007.[82] He was booed by England supporters while coming on as a second-half substitute during England's Euro 2008 qualifying match against Estonia on 13 October 2007,[83] and finished with one goal (in a 3–2 loss to Croatia on 21 November) as England failed to qualify for the tournament. He scored his first international goal in two years in a 4–0 win over Slovakia in March 2009, and also created another for Wayne Rooney. Lampard's goal was the 500th England goal scored atWembley.[84] On 9 September 2009, Lampard struck twice in England's 5–1 win against Croatia which secured their place at 2010 World Cup.[85] On 8 February 2011, it was announced that Lampard would captain the national team against Denmark in a friendly played the next day after both Rio Ferdinand and Steven Gerrard were absent through injury.[86] In the Euro 2012 qualifiers, Lampard netted two goals for England, both penalties. The first against Wales in a 2-0 win, and the latter vs Switzerland in a 2-2 draw, making Lampard England's most prolific penalty taker ever.[87][88]
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