FIFA World Youth Championship alongside Stuart Taylor, Peter Crouch, Andrew Johnson and Matthew Etherington. However, the team finished bottom of their group, suffering three defeats without scoring any goals. He also made four appearances for England under-21s, scoring once. After just four appearances for the Under-21s, Cole was fast-tracked into the England senior team and Sven-Göran Eriksson handed Cole his senior international debut against Albania, on 28 March 2001. He played for England at the 2002, 2006 and 2010 FIFA World Cups, UEFA Euro 2004 (where he was named as one of four England players in the all-star squad for the tournament) and UEFA Euro 2012. Cole was also an ever-present for England in the 2006 World Cup; in their second round match against Ecuador he made a crucial block, deflecting Carlos Tenorio's shot onto the crossbar. The match ended with England winning 1–0, but the team were knocked out on penalties by Portugal in the quarter-finals. By the end of 2008, Cole had achieved 68 caps for England, all of which were starting appearances. He made his 79th appearance for England on 12 June 2010 in the 1–1 draw against the United States in the 2010 World Cup Group stage match. He beat the record of 79 caps by a black English international (John Barnes, who appeared for England from 1983 to 1995) when he played against Algeria later that month. He has played more internationals without scoring than any other outfield player in England history. He won his 86th cap against Montenegro in October 2010, and alongside Kenny Sansom, Cole is now England's most-capped full-back in history, an achievement which helped him pick up the England Player of the Year award for 2010, as voted for by fans. On 6 February 2013, he earned his 100th cap as England beat Brazil 2–1 at Wembley. On 11 May 2014, he announced his retirement from international football after being omitted from the England squad for the 2014 FIFA World Cup. Style of play Cole's game incorporates an attacking approach to his play, which supports his teams' forward play. As a youth, he "always liked scoring goals and attacking", but grew to love the role of defending, as being a left-back was the only opportunity of breaking into the seniors. Prior to his inclusion in the Arsenal first team, Cole studied the conduct of fellow defender Nigel Winterburn to improve his