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| Trevor Steven played in the 1986 & 1990 World Cups |
Ask the question as to who was the last player to play in a World Cup Finals whilst a Burnley player and the easy answer is Billy Hamilton for Northern Ireland in Spain in 1982, a tournament that also saw Tommy Cassidy make one substitute appearance.
By the time the next World Cup came round in Mexico, Billy had been with Oxford for two years and had suffered with injuries, but he made three substitute appearances in Guadalajara, two as a substitute, bringing his international career to an end during which he scored five goals in 41 appearances.
My records show that only one ex-Claret, prior to Cahill, has appeared in a World Cup Finals and that was Trevor Steven who was in the England squad in both Mexico and Italy in 1986 and 1990, making three appearances in each, the last of which was the third/fourth place play off against hosts Italy in Bari in July 1990.
The two previous appearances had come in the games against Cameroon and the semi-final defeat against West Germany when he came on as a substitute and replaced captain Terry Butcher.
Meanwhile, Cahill is expected to line up again for England on Thursday in their second game against Uruguay which will bring him his 26th cap.
His last cap was added to the INTERNATIONALS section.