England men's all time top scorers - ranked

  • Harry Kane, Wayne Rooney and Gary Lineker among England's greatest ever marksmen
  • Sir Bobby Charlton held record of most goals scored for 45 years
  • Jimmy Greaves and Michael Owen other players to score 40 goals or more
Harry Kane has time on his side as he bids to become England's top most prolific goalscorer
Harry Kane has time on his side as he bids to become England's top most prolific goalscorer / Robbie Jay Barratt - AMA/Getty Images
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Over 1,250 players have represented England in 150 years of international matches since 1872, with countless legends a part of that number.

The Three Lions haven't enjoyed huge success in terms of winning trophies, with their 1966 World Cup win on home soil still their only major tournament victory - but there's still been plenty to shout about over the years.

Individual performances have been outstanding at times and no England supporter - born or not - will forget Geoff Hurst's memorable hat-trick in the World Cup final against West Germany in a hurry.

But Hurst is a long way behind a number of other greats when it comes to international goals scored for England - indeed that record currently belongs to a modern day Tottenham Hotspur hero.

Here's England's men's 30 all-time leading goalscorers...


30. Danny Welbeck - 16 goals

Welbeck was a regular under Roy Hodgson
Welbeck was a regular under Roy Hodgson / Mike Hewitt/GettyImages

Welbeck was at his most prolific for England in 2012 and 2014, scoring five goals in each of those calendar years alone.


29. David Beckham - 17 goals

David Beckham scored often for England in 2002 and 2003
David Beckham scored often for England in 2002 and 2003 / Jamie McDonald/GettyImages

Beckham scored several famous England goals during his 13-year international career, but none more so than that free-kick against Greece.


28. Roger Hunt - 18 goals

Roger Hunt played for England in the 1960s
Roger Hunt played for England in the 1960s / Don Morley/Getty Images

Liverpool legend Hunt played all six games en-route to England winning the World Cup on home soil in 1966, scoring three times.


27. Johnny Haynes - 18 goals

FRANCK FIFE/GettyImages

Known as the first English player to be paid £100 per week, Haynes was England captain between legends Billy Wright and Bobby Moore.


26. George Camsell - 18 goals

FRANCK FIFE/GettyImages

Middlesbrough legend Camsell has the best goals per game ratio of any England player in history with more than one appearance.


25. Dixie Dean - 18 goals

Dixie Dean is an Everton goalscoring legend
Dixie Dean is an Everton goalscoring legend / Barker/GettyImages

Dean remains the only player in English league history to score 60 goals in a single season and his international career was also prolific.


24. Martin Peters - 20 goals

Martin Peters
Martin Peters in action for England / Express/GettyImages

The late Peters had only just been given his England debut on the eve of the 1966 World Cup and finished the tournament by scoring in the final.


23. Jermain Defoe - 20 goals

Jermain Defoe scored against Slovenia at the 2010 World Cup
Jermain Defoe scored against Slovenia at the 2010 World Cup / Laurence Griffiths/Getty Images

Despite a 13-year international career that lasted until 2017, Defoe was only selected for major tournaments by England in 2010 and 2012.


22. Raheem Sterling - 20 goals

Raheem Sterling
Raheem Sterling played an important role for England at Euro 2020 / Carl Recine - Pool/GettyImages

Sterling was just 17 years of age when he made his England debut as a second half substitute against Sweden. It took him a while to get into the groove of scoring international goals but 2019 was a breakthrough year, netting eight times in nine Three Lions appearances.


21. Steven Gerrard - 21 goals

Steven Gerrard scored three times for England at World Cups
Steven Gerrard scored three times for England at World Cups / Phil Cole/Getty Images

Gerrard's first ever international goal came in the 5-1 thrashing of Germany in September 2001, the strike that put England ahead.


20. Kevin Keegan - 21 goals

England underachieved during Kevin Keegan's era
England underachieved during Kevin Keegan's era / Getty Images/Getty Images

England missed out on two World Cups during the 1970s, which meant that 1982 was Keegan's only chance to play at the tournament.


19. Mick Channon - 21 goals

Mick Channon
Mick Channon's England record was impressive / Evening Standard/GettyImages

Southampton were a Second Division club for a significant part of Channon's England career, which makes his record of 21 goals all the more impressive.


18. Peter Crouch - 22 goals

Peter Crouch netted a treble against Jamaica in 2006
Peter Crouch netted a treble against Jamaica in 2006 / Shaun Botterill/GettyImages

Crouch scored more than a goal every other game in an England shirt, with a 2006 hat-trick against Jamaica giving birth to his 'robot' celebration.


17. Tommy Lawton - 22 goals

FRANCK FIFE/GettyImages

Lawton was among a generation of players whose football career was cruelly interrupted by the Second World War.


16. Stan Mortensen - 23 goals

Stan Mortensen (right) played with Stanley Matthews for club and country
Stan Mortensen (right) played with Stanley Matthews for club and country / Reg Burkett/Getty Images

A Blackpool legend at club level, Mortensen was a leading name in the first ever England squad that went to a World Cup in 1950.


15. Geoff Hurst - 24 goals

Geoff Hurst scored four goals at the 1966 World Cup
Geoff Hurst scored four goals at the 1966 World Cup / Express/GettyImages

In close to a century of World Cup history, Hurst remains the only male player ever to a hat-trick in the final, doing so in 1966.


14. Bryan Robson - 26 goals

Bryan Robson captained England 65 times in total
Bryan Robson captained England 65 times in total / Ben Radford/Getty Images

Robson enjoyed an impressive goal return from midfield throughout his illustrious career for both Manchester United and England.


13. David Platt - 27 goals

David Platt is one of England's highest scoring midfielders
David Platt is one of England's highest scoring midfielders / Getty Images/GettyImages

Platt's most famous goal in an England shirt was the dramatic late extra-time volleyed winner against Belgium at the 1990 World Cup.


12. Steve Bloomer - 28 goals

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Derby and Middlesbrough legend Bloomer was a star of Victorian football in the late 19th century, making his England debut in 1895.


11. Frank Lampard - 29 goals

Frank Lampard was a member of England's famous Golden Generation
Frank Lampard was a member of England's famous Golden Generation / Ian Walton/GettyImages

Lampard didn't start playing regularly for England until 2003, but soon became an important goal threat. He scored three times at Euro 2004 and had a blatent goal ruled out against Germany at the World Cup in 2010.


10. Vivian Woodward - 29 goals

Woodward, who also played regularly for England Amateurs, was England's record goalscorer for 47 years between 1911 and 1958.


9. Tom Finney - 30 goals

Tom Finney played his last game for England aged 36
Tom Finney played his last game for England aged 36 / Central Press/Getty Images

A career delayed by the Second World War, Preston North End legend Finney made his England debut in the country's very first international after the fighting was over.


8. Alan Shearer - 30 goals

Alan Shearer ended an international goal drought at Euro '96
Alan Shearer ended an international goal drought at Euro '96 / Shaun Botterill/GettyImages

Shearer, who was top scorer at Euro '96 with five goals, announced his shock retirement from international football when he was still only 29.


7. Nat Lofthouse - 30 goals

Nat Lofthouse (left) was part of England's 1954 World Cup squad
Nat Lofthouse (left) was part of England's 1954 World Cup squad / Ron Burton/GettyImages

Bruising centre forward Lofthouse was given the nickname 'Lion of Vienna' thanks to a particular performance against Austria in 1952, and scored his 30 goals in just 33 appearances.


6. Michael Owen - 40 goals

Michael Owen was a teenage prodigy for England
Michael Owen was a teenage prodigy for England / Ben Radford/GettyImages

Owen burst onto the scene for England at just 18, scoring that goal against Argentina, but he was only 28 when he played his last game for the Three Lions.


5. Jimmy Greaves - 44 goals

Jimmy Greaves didn't receive his World Cup medal until 2009
Jimmy Greaves didn't receive his World Cup medal until 2009 / Getty Images/GettyImages

But for a group stage injury, it could have been Tottenham legend Greaves and not Geoff Hurst who was England's goalscoring hero at the 1966 World Cup.


4. Gary Lineker - 48 goals

Gary Lineker was England's chief goal threat in the late 1980s
Gary Lineker was England's chief goal threat in the late 1980s / Getty Images/GettyImages

Golden Boot winner at the 1986 World Cup, Lineker scored ten goals in total in the various editions of the competition, more than any other English player.


3. Bobby Charlton - 49 goals

Bobby Charlton (right) is arguably England's greatest ever player
Bobby Charlton (right) is arguably England's greatest ever player / Norman Quicke/GettyImages

Charlton is widely regarded as one of England's greatest ever players. He won both the World Cup and Ballon d'Or in 1966, while his England goalscoring record stood for 45 long years until it was finally broken.


2. Wayne Rooney - 53 goals

Wayne Rooney broke England's all-time goal record in 2015
Wayne Rooney broke England's all-time goal record in 2015 / Matthew Ashton - AMA/Getty Images

Rooney burst onto the scene at Euro 2004, scoring four goals as a teenager, and eventually succeeded Bobby Charlton as both England and Manchester United's all-time record goalscorer.


1. Harry Kane - 61 goals

Harry Kane has a strong goals per game ratio for England
Harry Kane has a strong goals per game ratio for England / Ryan Pierse/GettyImages

Kane became the first England player in 32 years to win a World Cup Golden Boot when he scored six times at the 2018 tournament, and surpassed Wayne Rooney as the Three Lions' all-time record scorer when netting a penalty against Italy in March 2023.