At the home of football, who are the best English football strikers of all time? We celebrate the extraordinary careers of the greatest ever strikers from England.
10. Ian Wright
One of the best Arsenal players of all time, Ian Wright dominated the early years of the Premier League and scored 185 goals in 288 appearances for Arsenal. Despite his goal scoring exploits, he never played in a major tournament for England, often overlooked for players including Nigel Clough, Paul Stewart, David Hirst and Brian Deane.
9. Kevin Keegan
Kevin Keegan is one of best English strikers of all time, winning the Ballon d’Or back-to-back in 1978 and 1979. After beginning his career at Scunthorpe United, he became a star at Liverpool and Hamburger SV.
Keegan’s career for England is a case of what could have been. Capped 31 times, the Three Lions failed to qualify for the 1974 and 1978 World Cup tournaments. He did captain England at Euro 1980 and played 26 minutes at the 1982 World Cup which was limited by a chronic back injury.
8. Teddy Sheringham
Teddy Sheringham’s career was marked by longevity and consistency across a 24-year career. He had an excellent presence in the box and an ability to score crucial goals which made him a beloved figure whenever he went.
Sheringham earned 51 caps for England, and only made his first appearance as a 27-year old. He scored 11 times, forming a formidable partnership up front with Alan Shearer until the emergence of Michael Owen limited his game time.
7. Michael Owen
Michael Owen burst onto the scene with blistering pace, which took game time off the much slower Teddy Sheringham for England. He won the Ballon d’Or in 2001 and became the first Englishman to do so since Kevin Keegan in 1979. Owen scored 150 goals in 326 Premier League appearances, and scored 40 goals for England while featuring in five major tournaments, scoring in four of those.
One of England’s greatest ever strikers Owen is best remembered for his time at Liverpool but his move to Manchester United remains one of the most controversial Premier League transfers of all time.
6. Wayne Rooney
Wayne Rooney exploded onto the scene with Everton in 2002 as a 16-year old, and he went on to score 208 goals and won five Premier League titles. He was second all-time goal scorer in the EPL behind Shearer, before Harry Kane surpassed him in May 2023.
In 2003 he became the youngest player ever for England at 17 years and 111 days when he made an appearance against Australia. He made his first major competition at Euro 2004, scored 53 goals for England and played his last tournament at Euro 2016. Rooney is one of the best English football strikers of all time but could have been much higher on the list had he done better than the single World Cup goal he scored from 11 appearances in the tournament.
5. Gary Lineker
When Gary Lineker played his last game for the Three Lions at Euro 92, he fell one goal short of Bobby Charlton’s 49-goal record for the Three Lions. Before the tournament he missed a penalty against Brazil that would have brought him level with Charlton. Lineker was the ultimate goal-poacher and is fifth on our list of best English football strikers of all time. To this date he remains the only player to finish top scorer in the top-tier of England with three different teams.
4. Harry Kane
Before Harry Kane’s big money move to Bayern Munich he became Tottenham’s all time top goalscorer in March 2023. In the same month he became England’s highest ever goalscorer with his 54th goal for the Three Lions. The three-time Golden Boot winner is also the second highest goal scorer in EPL history with 213 goals and he led England to the Euro 2020 Final.
3. Alan Shearer
Alan Shearer is the greatest English striker in the Premier League era. A three-time Golden Boot winner, Shearer was unstoppable during his prime helping guide Blackburn Rovers to a shock league title in 1994-95. He’s also the greatest scorer in EPL history with 260 goals from 441 games.
Shearer appeared for the England national team 63 times and scored 30 goals. He peaked at Euro 1996 scoring five goals to help England reach the semi-finals before being knocked out by Germany.
2. Jimmy Greaves
Jimmy Greaves was a goal-scoring machine and he owns the record to this day of most goals in the English top-flight with 357 goals from 516 games. Greaves played with a natural scoring instinct banging in goals nonchalantly with the composure of a hitman. He finished third in the 1963 Ballon d’Or rankings and scored a very efficient 44 goals in only 57 games for England.
1. Sir Bobby Charlton
Manchester United and English legend Sir Bobby Charlton is the best English striker of all time. He finished his international career in 1970 with 49 goals and it took until 2015 for Wayne Rooney to overtake his goalscoring record for the Three Lions.
Charlton’s achievements in 1966 is to this day is the pinnacle of English football. He played a pivotal role in England’s 1966 World Cup victory with a brace in the semi-final, the same year he won the Ballon d’Or.
