Joe Worrall

Nottingham Forest

Beginnings and loan to Dagenham & Redbridge

Worrall signed with Nottingham Forest in October 2011, rejecting interest from other local sides, Derby County and Leicester City. Worrall joined League Two club Dagenham & Redbridge on 8 January 2016 on a one-month loan deal. He made his professional debut the next day in a third-round FA Cup tie against Everton, which Dagenham & Redbridge lost 2–0, 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. 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". 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. He also received praise from manager Philippe Montanier, who described the centre-back as "strong and tall, but very clever too, tactically". Worrall's performances were noticed by Premier League clubs,…

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. 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. 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. 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.

As of match played 8 August 2026

Worrall was born on 10 January 1997 in Nottingham. He started playing football for Kimberley Miners Welfare F.C. at the age of eight, before playing for Priory Celtic when moving to Watnall and Hucknall Sports when moving to Hucknall. 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 EFL Cup second round fixture at home to Burnley, a one-minute's applause was held in his honour before kick-off by players, staff and fans.