The players who could break Harry Kane's England record
By Euan Burns
History was made when England took on Italy in their first Euro 2024 qualifier in Naples as Harry Kane became England's all-time record goalscorer.
The Tottenham man netted his 54th England goal and it came in the form of a penalty after Giovanni Di Lorenzo was adjudged to have handled in the box. His thumping strike took him above Wayne Rooney in the standings and he looks incredibly well-placed to set a record that could stand for many, many years.
He is 29 years old now, the England captain, starts basically every game for the Three Lions and has shown no signs of slowing down. He will almost certainly hold the record for a very long time. Who should he potentially be concerned about, though?
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Raheem Sterling
This may seem like a silly idea based on age and form, and you'd be right. But Raheem Sterling is the closest current England footballer to Kane on the list of all-time men's goalscorers so it would be a bit rude not to include him.
He may be struggling at Chelsea right now but Sterling is an incredibly good footballer and while his main job for England has always been to set up Kane, he has managed to grab 20 goals of his own for the Three Lions.
He won't overtake Kane, but he deserves to be mentioned for what he has done.
Marcus Rashford
Easily the best candidate around to outdo Kane, even if it will take a huge effort. Marcus Rashford is currently sat on 15 England goals and while he has had some great moments in an England shirt, a mixture of Gareth Southgate's lack of faith in him as well as poor form and injuries at key moments mean he is not seen as an integral part of the squad.
The form he has hit with Manchester United in the 2022/23 season has hinted he could be a prolific goalscorer for England, though. He is on 27 goals in all competitions and seems to score almost every time he takes to the pitch.
He is 24 now, meaning there is feasibly a decade of playing for England still to come.
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Bukayo Saka
Arsenal star Bukayo Saka may not be a striker, but he does score goals. More importantly, he seems able to take on an incredible amount of football and has an amazingly consistent level of performance. He is only on seven England goals right now, but he is also only 21 years old.
Saka is generally regarded now, thanks to his amazing Arsenal form this season, as a guaranteed starter for England. He has got a lot of England games to come his way, especially given his versatility. He could easily march his way up the list as his career progresses. He has scored 13 times for Arsenal so far this season.
Folarin Balogun
Speaking more hypothetically, the most prolific and established English striker who is yet to play for the senior team is Folarin Balogun. The Arsenal striker is not off the mark for England but is making a serious name for himself.
He is currently on loan at Stade Reims in Ligue 1 where he has scored 17 league goals, just one fewer than Kylian Mbappe. Both England and Arsenal appear to hold the keys to whether he can ever get close to Kane's level of impact for England.
He has scored 12 times for different England age groups, seven of which have been for the Under-21s. Despite that, there is still a chance he will never play for England. He is able to represent the USA, who have held talks with him, and can also qualify for Nigeria.
If England can get him to commit to their project, and if Arsenal can handle the very delicate next stage of his development properly, he could be a prolific goalscorer with lots of his career still to come.