--- source: thedugout.football generated: 2026-06-09T18:36:19.866Z last_updated: 2026-06-08T11:00:00+00:00 data_provider: API-Football canonical: https://thedugout.football/clubs/brighton/news/aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cudGhlYXJndXMuY28udWsvc3BvcnQvMjYxNzQ1MDYuYnJpZ2h0b24taGVyby1wZXRlci13YXJkLWVuZ2xhbmQtY2FwLWppbW15LWdyZWF2ZXMtc2FpZC8_cmVmPXJzcw --- # Albion idol treasures England cap and says Greaves wanted him to lead World Cup bid - **Source:** - **Published:** 8 Jun - **Club:** Brighton - **Original URL:** https://www.theargus.co.uk/sport/26174506.brighton-hero-peter-ward-england-cap-jimmy-greaves-said/?ref=rss Brighton and Hove Albion FC England football Football Sport Peter Ward is grateful for his England career – all seven minutes or so of it. But he would have loved to have had the chance to fire his country in an unlikely World Cup bid after being backed for a call-up by none other than Jimmy Graves. The eternally popular former Albion goal-getter was presented with a legacy cap ahead of the friendly against New Zealand in sweltering Tampa on Saturday. It was a home fixture for Ward, who has lived on the Gulf Of Mexico coast for several years. He was alongside his former Tampa Bay Rowdies colleague Rodney Marsh and ex-Liverpool defender Stephen Warnock as they were recognised for their part for the Three Lions. (Albion had done something similar for Ward and Steve Foster at the training ground in Lancing but England were keen to do likewise). Marsh, now 81, was one of the most exciting players of his day but also something of a maverick and only earnt nine caps in the early 1970s, scoring one goal. Ward’s chance was even briefer. One late substitute appearance away to Australia in the summer of 1980 when he replaced Alan Sunderland in a friendly. Some sources say he was one for eight minutes, some say it was six. Footage on YouTube suggests it was 6min 48secs. But it was all too brief. Peter Ward goes on as substitute for England (Image: None) He told The Argus: “I'm grateful I played, you know? I represented my country. “I remember after the Australia game, Ron Greenwood (manager) saying, ‘That's the first of many, right?’. “I don't know why it didn’t happen.” The next World Cup was in 1982 and England took Trevor Brooking and Kevin Keegan when they were not fit. But at least they qualified for that one. When Ward was in his peak years for the Seagulls, England were locked in a tough group with Italy and makeweights Finland and Luxembourg to get to the 1978 finals in Argentina. Only the group winners went through and England and Italy swapped 2-0 home wins in their head-to-head encounters, which meant it came down to goal difference against the minnows. England only beat the Finnish part-timers 2-1 at Wembley and were playing catch-up as they prepared to host Luxemburg. Ward said: “I was in the squad against Luxemburg, the one when we had to win about 9-0. But I didn't even get on the bench. "I remember Jimmy Greaves saying something. “It was at the time I was scoring all the time and had just got a hat-trick for the under-21s. “And he said, ‘You've got to start Peter Ward because he's on form at the moment’. But I didn't even get on the bench.” Ward enjoyed his trip to the game on Saturday but was not impressed by England in what he recognised was almost a training session. He knows from his NASL days that the heat and humidity will be a factor during the tournament. England start in Dallas, then head north to Boston before tackling what can be an intense summer heat in New Jersey. If they top the group, the knockout path looks arduous, taking them to Atlanta, Mexico City and Miami should they keep winning. Ex-Albion defender says Disney trip can help him in World Cup Rushworth deserves 'a fair shot' at Prem as Coventry hope to clinch deal Albion reject second van Hecke bid amid interest from 'multiple sources' Ward said: “I was in Seattle to start with but, when we played Tampa and Fort Lauderdale and Jacksonville, I used to think, ‘How can anyone live here? It's bloody hot!’. “Eventually my last team I played for was the Rowdies. “We trained early and they say your blood thins out a little bit. “I don't think you ever fully get used to it, but you get sort of used to it. “It’s humid in July, August, very humid. In fact, it's humid at the moment. “It was 90-odd degrees (when England played New Zealand), but with the humidity it felt like 105.” Ward met members of the Seagulls Over London supporters club during a sociable day in Tampa. He was last on this side of the Atlantic for the final day of the Premier League season and the home defeat by Manchester United. While dismissing the Albion display that afternoon as “terrible”, he added: “It might work out where the Conference League might give us a chance to win a European trophy. “It’s the weaker of the European competitions so we would have a good chance of going a long way. “It's amazing to come back, to be honest. It's great. “We got the train back into town and there's loads of fans on the train and they dragged us into a pub right away at the station. And then we went to another one! “Everyone is very nice and friendly. In fact, at the train station, somebody picked me up and got me on their shoulders and I was going, ‘Oh Jeez, I’m old!’.” But an “old” England international. And one who have played more had Greaves had his way.