Matthew Briggs

Fulham

Born in Wandsworth, London, Briggs was spotted by Fulham scouts at the age of ten. Able to play at left-back or the left of midfield, Briggs became a regular in the under-18 side despite still being registered with the under-16s, having put in some impressive performances in his age group. He featured at reserve level before being called up to Lawrie Sanchez's first-team for a trip to Middlesbrough in May 2007. He made his debut in the 3–1 defeat at the Riverside Stadium on 13 May, replacing Moritz Volz after 77 minutes to become the Premier League's youngest ever player at the age of 16 years and 65 days old. Briggs held the record for 12 years, until Harvey Elliott made an appearance, also for Fulham. After the match, the club's head of youth development, John Murtough, said of Briggs:

Matthew's a good lad and a good athlete. He's come in and hasn't been fazed by anything we've asked of him. It's still early days but he's shown promise in the Reserves – Lawrie Sanchez saw him and rewarded him with an opportunity to travel with the first team. Briggs later said of the experience:

Lawrie Sanchez said he wanted me to travel with the squad and there was a chance I'd get on. I was buzzing. Going back to school the day after, everyone was like 'oh my God' you've played in the Premier League. Briggs returned to school the next day to take his GCSE exams.

Leyton Orient loan

On 16 January 2010, Briggs signed for League One club Leyton Orient in a…

Briggs is eligible to play for both England and Guyana. He qualifies to play for Guyana through his grandmother.

England under-16

Briggs was first called up to the England under-16 squad on 9 November 2006, where he played in England's 3–0 win over Northern Ireland in the Victory Shield. This was his only game for the under-16 side.

England under-17

Briggs played the first of 13 appearances for the England under-17s on 8 April 2007 during a 4–1 away win over their Norwegian counterparts. In his 13 games for the under-17s, he featured in sides that won seven, drew five and lost only once, with his final appearance in the age group against Israel on 30 March 2008, a game which ended 2–2.

England under-19

Briggs made his debut for the under-19s on 13 October 2008 in a 4–1 European Under-19 Championship qualification defeat by Serbia at The Showgrounds in Newry, Northern Ireland. Briggs was a key member of England's squad that reached the tournament final in Donetsk, Ukraine in 2009. He was a late addition to the squad, having to fly back from Fulham's pre-season tour of Australia to link up with his teammates in Ukraine. Ahead of the tournament, Briggs had made a substitute appearance in England's 2–1 elite qualification win over Scotland on 1 June 2009 at Bramall Lane, Sheffield. He started in all of England's game en route to the final, including England's 1–1 Group A draw with Switzerland on 21 July, the 2–2 draw with Ukraine on 24 July, and he…

Club

International

Scores and results list Guyana's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Briggs goal.

England U19

UEFA European Under-19 Championship runner-up: 2009