As a kid I dreamed of playing for England and scoring a goal at Wembley.
Reality check some 40+ years later, I never scored for England. I didn’t even play for England. But I did manage to get to Wembley and watch England play many times. I can still feel the crowd roar when England score a goal. What a feeling that must be.
The leading goalscorer for England is Wayne Rooney, with 53 goals in 120 appearances. He is also England’s youngest goal scorer and highest capped out-field player, 2nd in all time England caps.
Some England Players have yet to score their first goal, so they’re still dreaming like I was as a kid. But at least they’re playing for England and actually have a chance to score.
At the other end of the scale some England Players just can’t stop scoring, and through out their careers they have amassed some pretty impressive goal totals, let take a look.
Players with more than 50 Goals for England
Wayne Rooney 53 goals
Only Wayne Rooney has scored more than 50 times for England. Rooney played for England 120 times and for a great deal of that time he played in a variety of positions to suit the team. Had he been more selfish perhaps he would have scored even more goals.
Sam Allardyce was only in charge of the England Team for one game, but he still publicly said he didn’t think he could tell Rooney where to play.
It’s testament to Rooney’s ability that he could play in other positions and still be the best option England had in that position.
Players with more than 40 Goals for England
Bobby Charlton 49 Goals
Gary Lineker 48 Goals
Jimmy Greaves 44 Goals
Only three players other than Wayne Rooney have scored more than 40 goals.
Two of these are Sir Bobby Charlton and Jimmy Greaves, both players were part of the 1966 World Cup Winning Squad.
Gary Lineker Captained England but his bid for World Cup Glory fell one game short as losing semi-finalists in Italia 90
Players with more than 30 Goals for England
Michael Owen 40 Goals
Harry Kane 32 Goals
Alan Shearer 30 Goals
Harry Kane is currently the highest placed current England Squad member and still has a chance to move up the scoring charts.
Michael Owen was once the youngest player to score for England, until Rooney claimed that honour.
Alan Shearer is no stranger to scoring goals as his 260 Premier League goals testify. He is the leading Premier League goal scorer of all time and is England’s 7th highest.
Players with at least 10 Goals for England
The following players have all score at least ten goals for England.
Most have retired but there are still a few who are in the current England squad and have a chance to move up the England Scoring Charts, notable are Raheem Sterling, Marcus Rashford.
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30 Goals
Nat Lofthouse 30
Tom Finney 30
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29 Goals
Vivian Woodward 29
Frank Lampard 29
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28 Goals
Steve Bloomer 28
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27 Goals
David Platt 27
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26 Goals
Bryan Robson 26
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24 Goals
Geoff Hurst 24
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23 Goals
Steve Mortensen 23
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22 Goals
Peter Crouch 22
Tommy Lawton 22
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21 Goals
Steven Gerrard 21
Kevin Keegan 21
Mick Channon 21
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20 Goals
Martin Peters 20
Jermain Defoe 20
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18 Goals
Dixie Dean 18
Roger Hunt 18
George Camsell 18
Johnny Haynes 18
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17 Goals
David Beckham 17
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16 Goals
Danny Wellbeck 16
Tony Woodcock 16
Tommy Taylor 16
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14 Goals
Paul Scholes 14
Tinsley Lindley 14
George Hilsdon 14
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13 Goals
Bobby Smith 13
Martin Chivers 13
Paul Mariner 13
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12 Goals
Trevor Francis 12
Cliff Bastin 12
Fred Dewhurst 12
Raheem Sterling 12
(still playing)
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11 Goals
John Barnes 11
Gilbert Smith 11
Wilf Mannion 11
Bryan Douglas 11
John Goodall 11
Stanley Matthews 11
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10 Goals
Ron Flowers 10
Paul Gascoigne 10
Joe Cole 10
Allan Clarke 10
Jackie Milburn 10
Marcus Rashford 10
(still playing)Teddy Sheringham 10
Francis Lee 10
Eric Brook 10
Dennis Wilshaw 10
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What about Own Goals
On the 23 March 2019 the Sun online newspaper declared that ‘own goals will beat Harry Kane to Wayne Rooney’s all-time record”
Own Goals would actually be in 2nd place behind Rooney on 51.
And considering the amount of games England will play own goals will, at some stage, become the all time leading England Goal scorer…
but just who will collect that nonsensical golden boot?
How about a bit of England Footy Goal Scoring Trivia
Which England Player has scored the most goals in one match?
Malcolm MacDonald scored five goals in one game, against Cyprus in 1975
Most Penalties Scored by an England player
This honour is currently shared between Frank Lampard and Harry Kane.
Both players have taken 11 penalties, scored 9 and missed 2.
The next highest is Wayne Rooney who scored 7 out of 7 for the penalties he took.
The fastest Goal Scored in an England Match
12 Seconds – Tommy Lawton – Belgium 2-5 England 1947
The fastest Goal Scored in an England World Cup Match
27 Seconds – Bryan Robson – France 1-3 England 1982