Harry Kane’s Ballon d’Or win ends a 25-year wait for an English winner. He takes his rightful place in England’s Ballon d’Or XI, a side made up from the Three Lions stars who finished highest at the awards.

We say ‘rightful’ but not everybody thinks he should have won it.

Goalkeeper: Peter Shilton
The names of Three Lions goalkeepers haven’t featured regularly on the lists of Ballon d’Or nominees over the years but Peter Shilton did manage to nab fifth spot in 1989. Shilton was the highest-placed England international that year and also the only man in the top five who didn’t play his club football in Milan.

Unsurprisingly, Gordon Banks is Shilton’s closest competitor, with a career high of seventh in 1972. If you fancy a goalkeeper challenge, try naming the legendary Burnley number one who finished 11th in the fifties.

Centre-back: Billy Wright
The list of Three Lions full-backs who’ve finished high-up the Ballon d’Or rankings is about as long as the number of Manchester United players who’ve performed well this season, so this XI will stick to central defenders. Two England internationals made the top three in 1957, with iconic Wolves captain Billy Wright placed second behind Real Madrid star Alfredo Di Stefano.

Centre-back: Duncan Edwards
The crown jewel of the Busby Babes joined Wright on the podium in ’57, with Duncan Edwards finishing in third after helping Manchester United to successive league titles. Edwards also starred in the Red Devils’ run to the semis of the European Cup and would have certainly featured regularly in the Ballon d’Or rankings for the next decade if it wasn’t for the tragic air crash in Munich the following year that cost him his life.

Centre-back: Bobby Moore
Bobby Moore will be forever remembered as captain during England’s glorious summer of ’66, but his highest Ballon d’Or ranking actually came in 1970, when he finished as runner-up to Gerd Muller. Other eligible English centre-backs include Moore’s fellow World Cup winner Jack Charlton (10th in 1969), Des Walker (12th in 1990), Gary Pallister (21st in 1991), Rio Ferdinand (21st in 2002), Jamie Carragher (20th in 2005) and John Terry (10th in 2005).

Right wing: Stanley Matthews
The winner of the inaugural Ballon d’Or back in 1956, Stanley Matthews saw off competition from the likes of Di Stefano, Puskas and Yashin to immortalise himself as the first man to hold the prestigious award. To make Matthews’ achievement even more remarkable, he finished top of the pile whilst in his 40s; something five-time winner Cristiano Ronaldo can only dream of.

Central midfield: David Beckham
With Matthews on the right, David Beckham will have to move to the middle of the park. Beckham finished as runner-up in 1999 after recovering from his England red card shame the previous year to help Manchester United win an unprecedented treble. He was one of seven Red Devils who made the list that year, but Barcelona’s brilliant Brazilian Rivaldo beat them all to pick up the award.

Central midfield: Frank Lampard
If the Gerrard/Lampard/Scholes debate came down to Ballon d’Or rankings, the Chelsea legend would win the argument. More than 1% of voters said Frank Lampard in 2005 as he finished second behind another beguiling Brazilian on the books at Barca: Ronaldinho. Gerrard completed the podium that year after inspiring Liverpool to that famous Champions League final comeback in Istanbul.

Left wing: Bobby Charlton
How Manchester United could do with their holy trinity in the here and now. Bobby Charlton, Denis Law and George Best all won the Ballon d’Or in the sixties, with Charlton’s annus mirabilis coming in 1966 as England’s star man on the path to World Cup glory. He almost lifted the top prize three years on the trot, finishing as runner-up in the following two years.

Forward: Kevin Keegan
Whilst Charlton came agonisingly close to picking up the award multiple times, Kevin Keegan achieved that feat with back-to-back wins. Keegan finished top in 1978 and 1979 whilst on the books at Hamburg after near-misses as a Liverpool player in previous years. Two other English forwards received nominations in ’79, with Nottingham Forest’s European Cup-winning duo Trevor Francis and Tony Woodcock coming in at 7th and 15th respectively.

Forward: Harry Kane
Kane’s win means this XI now boast a front three who’ve all finished top of the pile and sees Gary Lineker relegated to the bench, with his Golden Boot triumph at the 1986 World Cup only getting him second place in that year’s Ballon d’Or rankings. Lineker went on to become one of six Englishman nominated four years later, after Bobby Robson’s side reached the semi-finals of Italia ’90. Paul Gascoigne was the standout man in the sextet, placing 4th.

Forward: Michael Owen
No longer the most recent English winner of the Ballon d’Or, Michael Owen saw off competition from the likes of Zidane, Henry, Figo and Raul to pick up the prestigious award in 2001. There are a few other Three Lions forwards who’ve come close in the rankings. Alan Shearer grabbed third in 1996, Wayne Rooney’s best placing was fifth in 2011, Jamie Vardy’s Leicester City heroics secured him eighth in 2016 and Manchester United striker Tommy Taylor finished in the same position back in 1957.