Soccer
From National League to World Cup finals, the England stars who made their name in the fifth tier
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England completed their perfect record in qualifying for next summer's World Cup finals with two more victories over the past week, and topped the group without conceding a single goal.
Thomas Tuchel now only has one more camp with his players before choosing his final squad for the tournament, and within it could include several names that began their footballing careers in the National League.
Among them, a quartet of players featured below, for whom it would complete a remarkable journey, emphasising the importance of the English football pyramid.
DAZN News looks at the National League origins of England's World Cup stars.
Jordan Pickford
England's record-breaking number one is too often overlooked when it comes to talking about the best goalies in world football, but there's an argument to say he's the best the Three Lions have ever had - and it all started in the National League.
Pickford was just a teenage hopeful on loan from Sunderland when he got his first taste of first-team football, spending two seasons in the National League before he made his debut for the Black Cats.
He played 17 times for Darlington during the 2011-12 campaign, before spending the following season with Alfreton Town.
Getty
Dan Burn
Football fans love seeing a player who's progressed through the leagues and made it to the biggest stage of them all, and that's exactly the career path of Dan Burn.
The defender began his career in the North East with Darlington, and after making his debut with the club in League Two, relegation meant he spent a season in the National League.
He was among Darlington's best players during that campaign, which prompted Premier League Fulham to sign Burn. However, his career has taken several twists and turns before he eventually made his England debut last year, aged 32.
Jarrod Bowen
The West Ham winger made his senior debut as a National League player when, as a 17-year-old, he turned out for Hereford United in March 2014.
Bowen played eight games for the club before doing enough to convince Premier League Hull City he was worth a punt.
Eight years later and after a move to East London, Bowen made his England bow and has since won twenty caps for his country.
Dean Henderson
What a nice quirk to have both England's number one and his deputy, both National League alumni.
Like Pickford, Henderson experienced life in non-league as an up-and-coming goalie, joining National League North side Stockport County for a loan spell from Manchester United in 2015.
That spell kicked off a series of loan spells for the goalie, who eventually left United and joined Nottingham Forest before finding a home in South London with Crystal Palace.
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