Only two players that played in Gareth Southgate's first-ever England match still remain in his squad

Eight years is a long time in football, and a glance at Gareth Southgate's first England starting team has shown only two players who started that game still part of the Three Lions set-up.

Southgate has taken charge of the Three Lions for four international tournaments, including two World Cups and a pair of European Championships.

The first of these was the 2018 World Cup in Russia, where England reached the semi-final stage and lost out to Croatia.

England were runners-up at Euro 2020, which was delayed by a year thanks to the Covid-19 pandemic, as Southgate led the national team to their first final since 1966 but lost on penalties to Italy.

At the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, England reached the quarter-final stage but were defeated 2-1 by France.

And Southgate has led England to their second successive European Championships final, with a clash against Spain at Berlin's Olympiastadion on Sunday evening.

Southgate came into the England job after a four-year spell in charge of the under-21s.

The former Middlesbrough boss initially was appointed on a temporary basis following the resignation of Sam Allardyce after only one game in charge.

Southgate's first game in the dugout came in October 2016 when he managed England to a 2-0 victory over Malta at Wembley in a 2018 World Cup qualifier.

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And a glance at the starting XI from that evening shows only two players have survived to this day to be part of Southgate's plans.

Joe Hart was the goalkeeper that day, with a back four in front of him of Kyle Walker, Gary Cahill, John Stones and Ryan Bertrand.

A midfield trio of Wayne Rooney, Jordan Henderson and Dele Alli lined up, with a front three of Theo Walcott, Daniel Sturridge and Jesse Lingard ahead of them, with goals from Sturridge and Alli securing the win.

Only Manchester City duo Walker and Stones are still part of the England set-up and continue to be first choice selections.

Most of the rest of that time have since retired, including Hart, Cahill, Bertrand, Rooney, Walcott and Sturridge.

Henderson missed out on a place in this summer's squad for Euro 2024, having moved to Ajax in January, while Alli is currently a free agent after his Everton contract expired.

Lingard meanwhile now plays for South Korean side FC Seoul.

Southgate was appointed permanent England manager at the end of November 2016, a position he holds to this day.