Joe Worrall (footballer)

Joseph Adrian Worrall (born 10 January 1997) is an English professional footballer who plays as a centre-back for and captains Premier League club Nottingham Forest. He has also represented England at youth level, and captained the England squad that won the 2017 Toulon Tournament.

For the football referee of the same name, see Joe Worrall (referee).

Joe Worrall
Worrall with Nottingham Forest in 2016
Personal information
Full name Joseph Adrian Worrall[1]
Date of birth (1997-01-10) 10 January 1997
Place of birth Nottingham, England
Height 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)[2]
Position(s) Centre-back[3]
Team information
Current team
 Nottingham Forest
Number 4
Youth career
2011–2016 Nottingham Forest
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2016– Nottingham Forest 202 (4)
2016 → Dagenham & Redbridge (loan) 14 (1)
2018–2019 → Rangers (loan) 22 (0)
International career
2017 England U20 4 (0)
2017 England U21 3 (0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 2 September 2023 (UTC)

Early and personal life

Worrall was born on 10 January 1997[4] in Nottingham.[5] He started playing football for Kimberley Miners' Welfare at the age of eight, before playing for Priory Celtic when moving to Watnall and Hucknall Sports when moving to Hucknall.[6]

On 29 August 2023, Worrall's uncle, Sgt. Graham Saville, died in hospital after being struck by a train five days prior in an attempt to save a man in distress. The following day in Forest's Carabao Cup second round fixture at home to Burnley, a one-minute's silence was held in his honour before kick-off by players, staff and fans.

Club career

Worrall signed with Nottingham Forest in October 2011, rejecting interest from other local sides, Derby County and Leicester City.[7] Worrall joined League Two club Dagenham & Redbridge on 8 January 2016 on a one-month loan deal.[8] He made his professional debut the next day in a third-round FA Cup tie against Everton, which Dagenham & Redbridge lost 2–0,[9] and scored his first professional goal on 23 January in a 2–2 draw away to Newport County. Worrall made his first-team debut for Forest on 29 October 2016 at Reading and, despite losing the game 2–0, his performance was praised as "strong" and "decisive" by the Nottingham Post.[10][11] He revealed that he had been frustrated with the quality of Forest's defending that season and pulled manager Philippe Montanier aside to ask for a chance in the first team. Montanier simply replied "OK, you play against Reading on Saturday".[12]

On 19 November, Worrall started alongside Damien Perquis and Matt Mills in a three-man defence as Forest earned their first away win and clean sheet of the season at Ipswich Town. His performance led to Worrall being included in the Football League's Team of the Week and comparisons to former Forest and England defender Michael Dawson.[13][14] He also received praise from manager Philippe Montanier, who described the centre-back as "strong and tall, but very clever too, tactically".[15] Worrall's performances were noticed by Premier League clubs, with Everton and Stoke City reportedly tracking the centre-back.[16] On 27 February 2017, Worrall signed a three-and-a-half-year contract to extend his stay with Nottingham Forest until 2020.[17] Then later that year, after his success with England at the Toulon Tournament, he signed a further extension until 2022.[18]

On 31 August 2018, Worrall joined Scottish Premiership club Rangers on loan until the end of the 2018–19 season.[19] Worrall did not wish to go out on loan, and turned down a move to Ipswich Town, but Forest manager Aitor Karanka insisted that he needed more experience.[20]

Following his loan spell at Rangers, Worrall became a key player in the Nottingham Forest side under new manager Sabri Lamouchi, with the defender starting every league game of the 2019–20 season.[21] He signed a four-year contract extension in February 2020.[22]

During the 2021-22 season, Worrall regularly captained the Forest side during Lewis Grabban's absence through injury. He scored against rivals Leicester City during a 4-1 FA Cup win.[23] He played a key role in Forest's promotion to the Premier League and captained them in their 1–0 Play-off final victory over Huddersfield Town at Wembley. Worrall was also featured in that season's EFL Championship Team of the Season alongside teammates Ryan Yates and Djed Spence.[24]

On 4 August 2022, Worrall was named Forest's captain for their season in the 2022–23 Premier League.[25]

International career

On 19 May 2017, Worrall was called up to the England representative squad for the 2017 Toulon Tournament as a replacement for Charlton Athletic's Ezri Konsa, who had been promoted to the U20 squad for the 2017 FIFA U-20 World Cup.[26] Appointed as the team's captain, Worrall played four times and lifted the trophy as England defended their title on penalties after a 1–1 draw with the Ivory Coast in the final. Worrall was named the second-best player of the tournament after teammate David Brooks, who won the award.[27]

Following his impressive summer with England, Worrall received his first call-up to the U21 squad on 24 August 2017 for their upcoming qualifying matches against their Dutch and Latvian counterparts.[28] Worrall was, however, left out of the squad against the Dutch and was an unused substitute in his team's 3–0 win over Latvia on 5 September.[29]

Career statistics
As of match played 18 August 2023
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League National cup[lower-alpha 1] League cup[lower-alpha 2] Other Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Nottingham Forest 2015–16[30] Championship 00—00—00
2016–17[31] Championship 2100000—210
2017–18[32] Championship 3112020—351
2018–19[33] Championship 00—00—00
2019–20[21] Championship 4610020—481
2020–21[34] Championship 3112000—331
2021–22[35] Championship 39041003[lower-alpha 3]0461
2022–23[36] Premier League 3010040—341
2023–24[37] Premier League 200000—20
Total 20048180302195
Dagenham & Redbridge (loan) 2015–16[30] League Two 14110——151
Rangers (loan) 2018–19[33] Scottish Premiership 22041204[lower-alpha 4]0321
Career total 2365132100702667
  1. Includes FA Cup, Scottish Cup
  2. Includes EFL Cup, Scottish League Cup
  3. Appearances in Championship play-offs
  4. Appearances in UEFA Europa League

Honours

Nottingham Forest

England U20

Individual

References
  1. "Club list of registered players: Nottingham Forest" (PDF). English Football League. p. 28. Retrieved 30 August 2022.
  2. "Joe Worrall". Nottingham Forest F.C. Retrieved 2 August 2022.
  3. "Joe Worrall: Profile". worldfootball.net. HEIM:SPIEL. Retrieved 30 August 2022.
  4. "Joe Worrall: Overview". Premier League. Retrieved 30 August 2022.
  5. "J. Worrall: Summary". Soccerway. Perform Group. Retrieved 30 August 2022.
  6. "Family's pride as teen Joe Worrall makes full Nottingham Forest debut". Hucknall Dispatch. 3 November 2016. Retrieved 30 August 2022.
  7. "Proud Joe signs deal with Forest". Retrieved 9 January 2016.
  8. "BBC Sport – Dagenham sign Nottingham Forest's Joe Worrall on loan". BBC Sport. Retrieved 9 January 2016.
  9. Caroline Chapman. "Everton 2–0 Dagenham & Redbridge". BBC Sport. Retrieved 9 January 2016.
  10. "Reading 2–0 Forest". Nottingham Forest F.C. 29 October 2016. Retrieved 31 October 2016.
  11. "Reading 2 Nottingham Forest 0: Reds player ratings". Nottingham Post. 29 October 2016. Retrieved 31 October 2016.
  12. Taylor, Paul. "Joe Worrall Exclusive - his 'fetish' for heading the ball, demanding his debut and earning the right to drive a Maserati". The Athletic. Retrieved 26 June 2021.
  13. "Nottingham Forest defender Joe Worrall selected in the Football League's team of the week". Nottingham Post. 22 November 2016. Retrieved 23 November 2016.
  14. "Joe Worrall reminds Nottingham Forest legend Kenny Burns of Michael Dawson". Nottingham Post. 21 November 2016. Retrieved 23 November 2016.
  15. "Joe Worrall deserving of his run in Nottingham Forest first-team, says Philippe Montanier". Nottingham Post. 24 November 2016. Retrieved 27 November 2016.
  16. "Nottingham Forest defender Joe Worrall reportedly being tracked by Everton and Stoke City". Nottingham Post. 29 November 2016. Retrieved 30 November 2016.
  17. "Joe Worrall: Nottingham Forest defender signs new three-and-a-half-year contract". BBC Sport. 27 January 2017.
  18. "Worrall pens new deal". Nottingham Forest F.C. Retrieved 10 February 2019.
  19. "Worrall makes Rangers loan move". Nottingham Forest F.C. Retrieved 11 September 2020.
  20. Taylor, Paul. "Joe Worrall Exclusive - his 'fetish' for heading the ball, demanding his debut and earning the right to drive a Maserati". The Athletic. Retrieved 11 September 2020.
  21. "Games played by Joe Worrall in 2019/2020". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 30 August 2022.
  22. "Worrall signs new contract". Nottingham Forest F.C. Retrieved 11 September 2020.
  23. "Forest defeat FA Cup holders Leicester". BBC Sport. Retrieved 15 June 2022.
  24. "Football Manager EFL Team of the Season line-ups announced". English Football League. Retrieved 15 June 2022.
  25. "Joe Worrall named Nottingham Forest captain". Nottingham Forest F.C.
  26. "Worrall called up for Three Lions". Nottingham Forest Official Site. 19 May 2017.
  27. Kenny Burns (11 June 2017). "Joe Worrall will now want to 'take next step' with Nottingham Forest and England". Nottingham Post. Archived from the original on 11 June 2017. Retrieved 11 June 2017.
  28. FA staff (24 August 2017). "First U21s squad of the season contains a host of world champions". The FA. Retrieved 5 September 2017.
  29. "England U21 3–0 Latvia U21". BBC Sport. 5 September 2017. Retrieved 5 September 2017.
  30. "Games played by Joe Worrall in 2015/2016". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 30 August 2022.
  31. "Games played by Joe Worrall in 2016/2017". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 30 August 2022.
  32. "Games played by Joe Worrall in 2017/2018". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 30 August 2022.
  33. "Games played by Joe Worrall in 2018/2019". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 30 August 2022.
  34. "Games played by Joe Worrall in 2020/2021". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 30 August 2022.
  35. "Games played by Joe Worrall in 2021/2022". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 30 August 2022.
  36. "Games played by Joe Worrall in 2022/2023". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 26 May 2023.
  37. "Games played by Joe Worrall in 2023/2024". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 18 August 2023.
  38. Woodcock, Ian (29 May 2022). "Huddersfield Town 0–1 Nottingham Forest". BBC Sport. Retrieved 30 August 2022.
  39. "Hirst named in Team of the Tournament". www.swfc.co.uk. Retrieved 3 January 2023.
  40. "Football Manager EFL Team of the Season line-ups announced". English Football League. 24 April 2022. Retrieved 25 April 2022.
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