The West Ham midfielder shares his standout memories, inspirations and career highlights

From childhood football moments to personal achievements, teammates and toughest opponents, James Ward-Prowse reflects on his career through his “Top Threes.”

Football Memories

• David Beckham’s famous free-kick for England against Greece in October 2001.

• Signing for Southampton as an eight-year-old after starting out with local side East Lodge FC.

• Ricardo’s decisive penalty for Portugal to eliminate England at Euro 2004 — “I was in tears!”

Inspirations

• David Beckham

• Steven Gerrard

• Frank Lampard

Personal Achievements

• Becoming captain of Southampton in 2020, fulfilling a long-time ambition.

• Scoring his first England goal against San Marino in March 2021.

• Making his West Ham United debut against Chelsea in August 2023.

Favourite Goals

• First international goal for England vs San Marino (2021).

• Free-kick for Southampton against Tottenham Hotspur in March 2019.

• Free-kick for Southampton against Wolves in January 2022.

Matches

• 2017 EFL Cup final with Southampton against Manchester United at Wembley.

• UEFA Europa League quarter-final for West Ham vs Bayer Leverkusen in April 2024.

• Southampton vs Tottenham, scoring a decisive free-kick in a 2-1 win.

Teammates

• Stuart Armstrong

• Theo Walcott

• Danny Ings

Opponents

• Paul Scholes

• Steven Gerrard

• Philippe Coutinho

Achievements at West Ham United

• Debut against Chelsea at London Stadium (August 2023).

• Diving header against Manchester City (September 2023).

• Winning goal at Tottenham in a 2-1 victory (December 2023).