Which players have won the most caps against the same opposition?

“Kevin De Bruyne has played against Wales nine times throughout his international career. Has any player earned more caps against the same opposition?” asks Joran.

De Bruyne may be bored of facing Joe Allen and friends, but he’s got a long way to go before he beats the record for most caps against a single country.

“The Danish international Per Røntved featured 11 times against Sweden between 1970 and 1982,” writes Troels Milo Knudsen. Unsurprisingly, geographical rivalries provide most of the answers to this question.

“Billy Wright played 13 times versus Scotland between 1947 and 1959,” notes Michael Haughey, “Bobby Moore made 12 appearances against the Scots from 1963 to 1973.” Wright also played 13 times, an England record, against Northern Ireland.

“There must be several players in teams that play in smaller confederations,” writes Will Van der Byl. “The most obvious one I can think of is Canada’s captain Atiba Hutchinson, who has won 14 of his 98 caps playing against Honduras in a mixture of World Cup qualifiers, Gold Cup, Nations League and friendlies.”

In the same part of the world, Ben Cordes points out that Landon Donovan won 17 of his USA caps against Mexico, including the celebrated victory at the 2002 World Cup.

Back to Britain, where the Home International Championship, which ran until 1984, provided plenty of opportunities to rack up appearances against the same opponent. Especially if you were the best goalkeeper in your country, arguably the world. “Pat Jennings (Northern Ireland 1964–86, 119 caps) played 20 times against England, and 19 times against Scotland,” writes John Curry. Those 20 caps include the famous night at Wembley when Jennings kept England at bay and ensured Northern Ireland’s