Former tractor boy Nick Pope has been named in England's world cup squad.

The 30-year-old Newcastle keeper, who was born just over the border in Cambridgeshire, was among the 26 players selected by Gareth Southgate to travel to Qatar later this month.

The Suffolk-raised keeper has been in and around the England set-up for some time, with his 10 caps spanning a period of over four years.

His move to Newcastle has earned him new-found recognition, but pundits believe his ability with the ball at his feet could see him come up short in the battle against his goalkeeping rivals.

However, all of that seemed an impossibility just a few years ago.

Pope was released by Ipswich Town, his boyhood club, at 16.

A season ticket holder in his younger years, the Soham-born shot-stopper called his release "the biggest disappointment" of his life, and led to him debating whether or not he had a future in football at all.

He did.

Pope went on to play for non-league Bury Town while studying business marketing at West Suffolk College. During that time he worked part-time as a milkman until League One Charlton snapped him up in 2011.

East Anglian Daily Times:

A succession of loans followed, before a move to Burnley – then of the Premier League – came along in 2016.

He went on to make more than 140 appearances for the Clarets. 

And in 2018 he made his debut for England, coming on as a substitute in a 2-0 win over Costa Rica in the build-up to the 2018 World Cup.

He went on to keep a clean sheet in his first six appearances for England, making him the first goalkeeper to do so.

This summer, following Burnley's relegation from the Premier League, Pope moved to Newcastle for a fee thought to be in the region of £10million.

In 2019, as Pope made his full England debut at Wembley, Russell Ward, chairman of Bury Town Football Club, told this newspaper: "We at Bury Town Football Club are all really pleased with the success Nick Pope has achieved.

"He always worked really hard at Bury Town and we are not surprised how well he is doing.

"We all wish him the best in his future career and look forward to watching him play for England."