Who was the first footballer to earn 100 international caps playing for his country?

William Ambrose "Billy" Wright, CBE (6 February 1924 – 3 September 1994) was an English footballer, who spent his whole career at Wolverhampton Wanderers. The first footballer in the world to earn 100 international caps, Wright also holds the record for longest unbroken run in competitive international football. He made a total of 105 appearances for England, captaining them a record 90 times, including during their campaigns at the 1950, 1954 and 1958 World Cup finals.

He made his international debut on 19 January 1946 in a 2–0 win over Belgium in a (post-war) 'Victory International'. His full debut came on 28 September 1946 in a thumping 7–2 win against Ireland. He was made captain in 1948, a role he held for 90 games until his retirement (an all-time record shared subsequently with Bobby Moore). In 1952, with his 42nd cap, he surpassed Bob Crompton's appearance record for England, which had stood since 1914. In total, he made 105 full international appearances (70 consecutive), scoring three times. He was also the first football player in the world to earn 100 caps.

In British sport, a cap is a metaphorical term for a player's appearance in a game at international level. The term dates from the practice in the United Kingdom of awarding a cap to every player in an international match of association football