By virtue of his father coming from Bolton, Hargreaves is eligible to play for England. He was born in Canada and grew up an ice hockey fan. He could also play for Wales due to his mother's country of birth and by 2002 would have been eligible for Germany due to residential rights.

After taking up soccer - his dad is a big Bolton Wanderers fan - he impressed in his native Calgary before Munich snapped him up at age 16.

Now committed to playing for England, he won international acclaim when his performance as a stand-in for Stefan Effenberg in the televised Champions League Semi-final second-leg marked him as a player of genuine potential. He was instrumental in a 2-1 victory which sealed the German side's place in the final.

He has playmaking skills and plenty of self confidence for his age and though his shooting was a little wayward in that game, Sven Goran Eriksson must have been licking his lips.

Originally turned in some good displays for the Under 21 side before being elevated to the full squad for the friendly with Holland at White Hart Lane in August 2001.

Was played out of position for his debut against the Dutch but retained his place in the squad for England's crunch World Cup 2002 qualyfing matches against Germany and Albania.