Top five highest goalscorers for the England national football team

The Three Lions have comprised of iconic goal-scorers over the years.

Harry Kane recently became England's second highest goalscorer when he scored from the spot against Switzerland in the FIFA World Cup qualifiers.

Kane made it to the headlines last year as well after tying with Gary Lineker for he joint-third highest scorer. As of now , he is currently tied for second place with Bobby Charlton.

Here are the top five highest goalscorers for England men's national team.

5. Jimmy Greaves (44)

Jimmy Greaves scored 44 goals in 57 games for the  England national team. Greaves missed out on the 1966 FIFA World Cup final because of an injury in the quarter-final. What happened after that is history, as Geoff Hurst took his place and went on to score a hat-trick in the final. Many of the former players even termed him as a "genius" striker and goalscoring machine.

He also shone at club level. Jimmy Greaves scored 266 goals in 379 matches for Tottenham Hotspurs and is still their highest goalscorer. He also scored 132 goals in 169 games for Chelsea.

4. Gary Lineker (48)

Gary Lineker amassed 48 goals for the England national team in 80 appearances. Lineker scored five hat-tricks for the Three Lions. One of these came against Turkey in the FIFA World Cup Qualifiers. He came in clutch against Poland in a must-win final group game of the World Cup. Lineker scored a hat-trick within the first 35 minutes to establish his prowess. His sportsmanship was also excellent because he was not booked in over 600 international and club games.

He won the Golden Boot after scoring six goals at the 1986 World Cup. The striker also scored four goals at the 1990 World Cup to help his team reach the semi-final in Italy.

3. Sir Bobby Charlton (49)

Sir Bobby Charlton scored 49 goals for England. Currently, he is tied with Harry Kane as the second-highest goalscorer for England. Contrary to other strikers on the list ,Charlton was a midfielder and many consider him as one of the best of all-time. 

The former Manchester United man scored four hat-tricks for the national team. He also scored three goals against Luxembourg during the 1962 World Cup Qualifiers. Bobby Charlton was named as the Ballon d'Or winner in 1966.

2. Wayne Rooney (53)

Wayne Rooney is England's top scorer with 53 goals. He is also their most capped player with 120 appearances. Many consider Rooney as one of the most underrated players of his time.

Rooney first introduced himself to the international team back in 2003. He made an instant impact, scoring four goals at the 2004 Euros. The attacker scored 16 goals in friendlies and netted the other 37 at major tournaments. His 50th goal was coincidentally his 300th for both club and country. He played in three World Cups.

1. Harry Kane (54)

Harry Kane has now surpassed Wayne Rooney's record of 53 goals for the England national team, thus becoming the all time top goalscorer for England in history. Kane scored from the penalty spot against Italy in the EURO 2024 Qualifyiers to beat Rooney's feat. The Tottenham Hotspur striker is an exceptional goalscorer for both club and country. He has also scored 15-plus goals consistently for seven seasons in the league for Tottenham.

Kane won the Golden Boot at the 2018 World Cup, scoring six goals. Surely, Harry Kane is on course to vertake Rooney and become the top scorer of the England national team. The striker has also scored the most goals in competitive games for England, surpassing Wayne Rooney's record of 39 goals.

** Article last updated on March 24, 2023.

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