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England's Goalscoring Captains 1872-1914
Capt
No.

Player
 Club

Goalscoring Date Result - Opponent - Venue Cmp/ Goals
3 Charles Alcock
 Wanderers
6 March 1875 2-2 vs. Scotland, Surrey Cricket Ground, Kennington Fr 1
6 Arthur Cursham
 
Notts County
2 March 1878 2-7 vs. Scotland, Hampden Park, Glasgow Fr 1

Match 7. Newspaper reports conflict on who was the actual captain against Wales on 18 January 1879.  Three reports, The Field, The Sportsman and Football Annual give the captaincy to goalscorer, Arthur Cursham, whilst The London Times, Athletic News and Bell's Life, gives it to Henry Wace.  The fact that Charles Alcock's own Football Annual lists Cursham makes us want to favour the Notts County forward, but one can never be sure and we will not commit ourselves with any degree of certainty.

9 Francis Sparks
 
Clapham Rovers
15 March 1880 3-2 vs. Wales, Racecourse Ground, Wrexham Fr 2
12 Charlie Bambridge
 
Swifts
18 February 1882 13-0 vs. Ireland, Knock Ground, Belfast Fr 1
11 Norman Bailey
 
Clapham Rovers
17 March 1884 4-0 vs. Wales, Racecourse Ground, Wrexham BC 1
15 Tinsley Lindley
 
Cambridge Univ.,
 Nottingham Forest
 & Corinthians
4 February 1888 5-1 vs. Wales, Recreation Ground, Crewe BC 1
7 April 1888 5-1 vs. Ireland, Ulster Ground, Belfast BC 1
16 Jack Brodie
 Wolverhampton W.
2 March 1889 6-1 vs. Ireland, Anfield Road, Liverpool BC 1
18 John Goodall
 Derby County
7 March 1891 4-1 vs. Wales, Football Ground, Sunderland BC 1
15 Tinsley Lindley
 Nottingham Forest
 & Corinthians
6-1 vs. Ireland, Molineux, Wolverhampton BC 2
21 George Cotterill
 
Old Brightonians
&
 Corinthians
1 April 1893 5-2 vs. Scotland, Athletic Ground, Richmond BC 1

Match 51. Various sources cannot decide who was captain for the match on 12 March 1894, probably Charles Wreford-Brown, but possibly goalscorer Cunliffe Gosling.  Wreford-Brown was by far the oldest in an inexperienced team, but neither Sporting Life, Manchester Guardian, North Wales Guardian, The Times, The Field, The Sportsman, Sporting Chronicle, and Northern Whig make mention of a captain.

16 John Goodall
 Derby County
7 April 1894 2-2 vs. Scotland, Celtic Park, Glasgow BC 1

Match 56. The captaincy on 7 March 1896 was probably given to George Raikes, at least according to Irish Saturday Night and The Irish TimesThe London Times gives a first captaincy to goalscorer, Gilbert Smith, and Vaughan Lodge is also a possibility. Many other sources do not specify any captain.

Match 57. After extensive research in the English and Welsh newspapers of the time and has not found a single contemporaneous record of England's captain for 16 March 1896.  Possibly goalscorer Gilbert Smith.

25 Gilbert Smith
 Old Carthusians &
 Corinthians
28 March 1898 3-0 vs. Wales, Racecourse Ground, Wrexham BC 1
18 February 1899 13-2 vs. Ireland, Roker Park, Sunderland BC 4
27 Ernest Needham
 Sheffield United
18 March 1901 6-0 vs. Wales, St. James' Park, Newcastle upon Tyne BC1
33 Stanley Harris
 
Old Westminsters &
 Corinthians
17 February 1906 5-0 vs. Ireland, Cliftonville Gardens, Belfast BC 1


34

Vivian Woodward
 Tottenham Hotspur
15 February 1908 3-1 vs. Ireland, Cliftonville Gardens, Belfast BC 1
16 March 1908 7-1 vs. Wales, Racecourse Ground, Wrexham BC 3
6 June 1908 6-1 vs. Austria, Cricketer Platz, Vienna Fr 1
8 June 1908 11-1 vs. Austria, Hohe Warte Stadion, Wien Fr 4
10 June 1908 7-0 vs. Hungary, Millenáris Sportpálya, Budap-esth Fr 1
13 February 1909 4-0 vs. Ireland, Horton Park Avenue, Bradford Fr 2
29 May 1909 4-2 vs. Hungary, Millenáris Sportpálya, Buda-pesth Fr 1
31 May 1909 8-2 vs. Hungary, Millenáris Sportpálya, Buda-pesth Fr 4
1 June 1909 8-1 vs. Austria, Hohe Warte Stadion, Wien Fr 3
13 March 1911 3-0 vs. Wales, The Den, New Cross BC 2


England's Goalscoring Captains 1919-39
Capt
No.

Player
 Club

Goalscoring Date Result - Opponent - Venue Cmp/ Goals
38 Charlie Buchan
 Sunderland
10 May 1923 4-1 vs. France, Stade Pershing, Paris Fr 1
55 David Jack
 Arsenal
5 April 1930 5-2 vs. Scotland, Empire Stadium, Wembley BC 1
10 May 1930 3-3 vs. Germany, Deutsches Stadion, Berlin Fr 1


England's Goalscoring Captains 1946-2024
Capt
No.

Player
 Club

Goalscoring Date Result - Opponent - Venue Cmp/ Goals
66 Billy Wright
 Wolverhampton
 Wanderers
22 May 1949 3-1 vs. France, Stade Olympique Yves-du-Manoir, Paris Fr 1
30 November 1949 2-0 vs. Italy, White Hart Lane, Tottenham Fr 1
7 October 1950 4-1 vs. Ireland, Windsor Park, Belfast BC 1
69 Johnny Haynes
 Fulham
19 October 1960 9-0 vs. Luxembourg, Stade Municipal, Stad Lëtzebuerg WCP 1
23 November 1960 5-1 vs. Wales, Empire Stadium, Wembley BC 1
15 April 1961 9-3 vs. Scotland, Empire Stadium, Wembley BC 1
71 Bobby Moore
 West Ham United
5 January 1966 1-1 vs. Poland, Goodison Park, Liverpool Fr 1
29 June 1966 6-1 vs. Norway, Ullevål Stadion, Oslo Fr 1
73 Bobby Charlton
 Manchester United
21 April 1970 3-1 vs. Northern Ireland, Empire Stadium, Wembley BC 1
79 Gerry Francis
 QPR
11 May 1976 4-0 vs. Northern Ireland, Wembley Stadium, Wembley BC 1
81 Mick Channon
 Southampton
28 May 1976 3-2 vs. Italy, Yankee Stadium, New York City TC 2
80 Kevin Keegan
 Liverpool
30 March 1977 5-0 vs. Luxembourg, Wembley Stadium, Wembley WCP 1
81 Mick Channon
 Southampton
28 May 1977 2-1 vs. Northern Ireland, Windsor Park, Belfast BC 1


80

Kevin Keegan
 
Hamburger
19 April 1978 1-1 vs. Brazil, Wembley Stadium, Wembley Fr 1
26 May 1979 3-1 vs. Scotland, Wembley Stadium, Wembley BC 1
13 June 1979 3-4 vs. Austria, Praterstadion, Wien Fr 1
12 September 1979 1-0 vs. Denmark, Wembley Stadium, Wembley ECP 1
6 February 1980 2-0 vs. Republic of Ireland, Wembley Stadium, Wembley ECP 2
13 May 1980 3-1 vs. Argentina, Wembley Stadium, Wembley Fr 1
 Southampton 6 June 1981 3-1 vs. Hungary, Népstadion, Budapest WCP
1
23 February 1982 4-0 vs. Northern Ireland, Wembley Stadium, Wembley BC 1


90

Bryan Robson
 Manchester United
1 June 1983 2-0 vs. Scotland, Wembley Stadium, Wembley BC 1
16 November 1983 4-0 vs. Luxembourg, Stade Municipal, Stad Lëtzebuerg ECP 2
12 September 1984 1-0 vs. GDR, Wembley Stadium, Wembley Fr 1
17 October 1984 5-0 vs. Finland, Wembley Stadium, Wembley WCP 1
14 November 1984 8-0 vs. Turkey, Inönü Stadyumu, İstanbul WCP 3

89 Ray Wilkins
 Manchester United
27 February 1985 1-0 vs. Northern Ireland, Windsor Park, Belfast WCP 1


90

Bryan Robson
 Manchester United
12 June 1985 3-0 vs. West Germany, Estadio Azteca, ciudad de México TC 1
16 October 1985 5-0 vs. Turkey, Wembley Stadium, Wembley WCP 1
26 February 1986 2-1 vs. Israel, Ramat-Gan Stadium, Tel Aviv Fr2
1 April 1987 2-0 vs. Northern Ireland, Windsor Park, Belfast ECP 1
14 October 1987 8-0 vs. Turkey, Wembley Stadium, Wembley ECP 1
11 November 1987 4-1 vs. Yugoslavia, Stadion JNA, Beograde ECP 1
15 June 1988 1-3 vs. Netherlands, Rheinstadion, Düsseldorf ECF 1
8 February 1989 2-1 vs. Greece, Olympiakó Stádio Spiros Louis, Athína Fr 1
8 March 1989 2-0 vs. Albania, Stadiumi Kombetar Qemal Stafa, Tiranë WCP 1
13 December 1989 2-1 vs. Yugoslavia, Wembley Stadium, Wembley Fr 2

93 Gary Lineker
 Tottenham Hotspur
12 September 1990 1-0 vs. Hungary, Wembley Stadium, Wembley Fr 1
17 October 1990 2-0 vs. Poland, Wembley Stadium, Wembley ECP
1
25 May 1991 2-2 vs. Argentina, Wembley Stadium, Wembley Fr 1
3 June 1991 1-0 vs. New Zealand, Mount Smart Stadium, Auckland Fr 1
95 Stuart Pearce
 Nottingham Forest
8 June 1991 2-0 vs. New Zealand, Athletic Park, Wellington Fr 1
93 Gary Lineker
 Tottenham Hotspur
12 June 1991 4-2 vs. Malaysia, Stadium Merdeka, Kuala Lumpur Fr 4
13 November 1991 1-1 vs. Poland, Stadion Lecha, Poznań ECP 1
29 April 1992 2-2 vs. CIS, Central V.I. Lenin Stadium, Moskva Fr 1
95 Stuart Pearce
 Nottingham Forest
18 November 1992 4-0 vs. Turkey, Wembley Stadium, Wembley WCP 1


96

David Platt

 Juventus
17 February 1993 6-0 vs. San Marino, Wembley Stadium, Wembley WCP 4
31 March 1993 2-0 vs. Turkey, Atatürk Stadyumu, İzmir WCP 1
28 April 1993 2-2 vs. Netherlands, Wembley Stadium, Wembley WCP 1
 Sampdoria 16 November 1994 1-0 vs. Nigeria, Wembley Stadium, Wembley Fr 1
3 June 1995 2-1 vs. Japan, Wembley Stadium, Wembley TC1
8 June 1995 3-3 vs. Sweden, Elland Road, Leeds TC 1
 Arsenal 18 May 1996 3-0 vs. Hungary, Wembley Stadium, Wembley Fr 1


99

Alan Shearer
 Newcastle United
1 September 1996 3-0 vs. Moldova, Stadionul Republican, Chişinău WCP 1
9 October 1996 2-1 vs. Poland, Wembley Stadium, Wembley WCP 2
30 April 1997 2-0 vs. Georgia, Wembley Stadium, Wembley WCP 1
31 May 1997 2-0 vs. Poland, Stadion Śląski, Chorzów WCP 1
7 June 1997 1-0 vs. France, Stade de la Mosson, Montpellier TC 1
22 April 1998 3-0 vs. Portugal, Wembley Stadium, Wembley Fr 2
15 June 1998 2-0 vs. Tunisia, Le Stade Vélodrome, Marseille WCF 1
30 June 1998 2-2 vs. Argentina, Stade Geoffroy-Guichard, Saint-Étienne WCF
1
5 September 1998 1-2 vs. Sweden, Råsunda Fotbollstadion, Solna ECP 1
14 October 1998 3-0 vs. Luxembourg, Stade Josy Barthel, Stad Lëtzebuerg ECP
1
28 April 1999 1-1 vs. Hungary, Népstadion, Budapest Fr1
9 June 1999 1-1 vs. Bulgaria, Stadion Balgarska Armia, Sofiya ECP 1
4 September 1999 6-0 vs. Luxembourg, Wembley Stadium, Wembley ECP 3
10 October 1999 2-1 vs. Belgium, Stadium of Light, Sunderland Fr 1
17 June 2000 0-1 vs. Germany, Stade Communal, Charleroi ECF
1
20 June 2000 2-3 vs. Romania, Stade Communal, Charleroi ECF 1


103

David Beckham
 Manchester United
24 March 2001 2-1 vs. Finland, Anfield Road, Liverpool WCP 1
25 May 2001 4-0 vs. Mexico, Pride Park, Derby Fr 1
6 June 2001 2-0 vs. Greece, Olympiakó Stádio Spiros Louis, Athína WCP 1
6 October 2001 2-2 vs. Greece, Old Trafford, Manchester WCP 1
10 November 2001 1-1 vs. Sweden, Old Trafford, Manchester Fr1

104 Michael Owen
 
Liverpool
17 April 2002 4-0 vs. Paraguay, Anfield Road, Liverpool Fr 1
21 May 2002 1-1 vs. Korea Republic, Jeju World Cup Stadium, Seogwipo-si Fr 1


103

David Beckham
 Manchester United
7 June 2002 1-0 vs. Argentina, Sapporo Dōmu, Toyohira-ku, Sapporo-shi WCF
1
12 October 2002 2-1 vs. Slovakia, Tehelné pole, Bratislava ECP 1
16 October 2002 2-2 vs. FYR Macedonia, The Friends Provident St Mary's Stadium, Southampton ECP 1
29 March 2003 2-0 vs. Liechtenstein, Rheinpark Stadion, Vaduz ECP 1
2 April 2003 2-0 vs. Turkey, Stadium of Light, Sunderland ECP
1

104 Michael Owen
 
Liverpool
11 June 2003 2-1 vs. Slovakia, The Riverside Stadium, Middlesbrough ECP
2
103 David Beckham
 
Real Madrid
20 August 2003 3-1 vs. Croatia, Portman Road, Ipswich Fr1
6 September 2003 2-1 vs. FYR Macedonia, Gradski Stadion,Skopje ECP
1
18 August 2004 3-0 vs. Ukraine, St James' Park, Newcastle upon Tyne Fr 1
9 October 2004 2-0 vs. Wales, Old Trafford, Manchester WCP 1
104 Michael Owen
 Real Madrid
13 October 2004 1-0 vs. Azerbaijan, Tofiq Bəhramov adına Respublika Stadionu, Baku WCP 1
103 David Beckham
 
Real Madrid
30 March 2005 2-0 vs. Azerbaijan, St James' Park, Newcastle upon Tyne WCP 1
104 Michael Owen
 
Newcastle United
12 October 2005 2-1 vs. Poland, Old Trafford, Manchester WCP 1
103 David Beckham
 
Real Madrid
25 June 2006 1-0 vs. Ecuador, Gottlieb Daimler Stadion, Stuttgart WCF 1
106 John Terry
 Chelsea
16 August 2006 4-0 vs. Greece, Old Trafford, Manchester Fr 1
1 June 2007 1-1 vs. Brazil, The National Stadium, Wembley Fr 1
28 May 2008 2-0 vs. United States, The National Stadium, Wembley Fr 1
107 Rio Ferdinand
 Manchester United
11 October 2008 5-1 vs. Kazakhstan, The National Stadium, Wembley WCP 1
106 John Terry
 Chelsea
19 November 2008 2-1 vs. Germany, Olympiastadion, Berlin Fr 1
1 April 2009 2-1 vs. Ukraine, The National Stadium, Wembley WCP 1
105 Steven Gerrard
 Liverpool
12 June 2010 1-1 vs. United States, Royal Bafokeng Stadium, Rustenburg WCF 1
11 August 2010 2-1 vs. Hungary, The National Stadium, Wembley Fr 2
109 Frank Lampard
 Chelsea
12 November 2011 1-0 vs. Spain, The National Stadium, Wembley Fr 1
108 Wayne Rooney
 Manchester United
12 October 2012 5-0 vs. San Marino, The National Stadium, Wembley WCP
2
109 Frank Lampard
 Chelsea
22 March 2013 8-0 vs. San Marino, Stadio Olimpico, Serravalle WCP 1
105 Steven Gerrard
 Liverpool
6 September 2013 4-0 vs. Moldova, The National Stadium, Wembley WCP 1
15 October 2013 2-0 vs. Poland, The National Stadium, Wembley WCP 1


108

Wayne Rooney
 Manchester United
3 September 2014 1-0 vs. Norway, The National Stadium, Wembley Fr1
9 October 2014 5-0 vs. San Marino, The National Stadium, Wembley ECP
1
12 October 2014 1-0 vs. Estonia, A. Le Coq Arena, Tallinn ECP 1
15 November 2014 3-1 vs. Slovenia, The National Stadium, Wembley ECP
1
18 November 2014 3-1 vs. Scotland, Celtic Park, Glasgow Fr 2
27 March 2015 4-0 vs. Lithuania, The National Stadium, Wembley ECP 1
14 June 2015 3-2 vs. Slovenia, Stadion Stožice, Ljubljana ECP 1
5 September 2015 6-0 vs. San Marino, San Marino Stadium, Serravalle ECP
1
8 September 2015 5-0 vs. Switzerland, The National Stadium, Wembley ECP
1
17 November 2015 2-0 vs. France, The National Stadium, Wembley Fr 1
27 June 2016 1-2 vs. Iceland, Allianz Riviera, Nice ECF
1


119

Harry
Kane

 Tottenham Hotspur
10 June 2017 2-2 vs. Scotland, The National Stadium, Glasgow WCP 1
13 June 2017 2-3 vs. France, Stade de France, Saint-Denis Fr2
5 October 2017 1-0 vs. Slovenia, The National Stadium, Wembley WCP 1
8 October 2017 1-0 vs. Lithuania, LFF stadionas, Vilnius WCP
1
2 June 2018 2-1 vs. Nigeria, The National Stadium, Wembley Fr 1
18 June 2018 2-1 vs. Tunisia, Volgograd Arena, Volgograd WCF 2
24 June 2018 6-1 vs. Panama, Stadion Nizhny Novgorod, Nizhny Novgorod WCF
3
3 July 2018 1-1 vs. Colombia, Otkritie Arena, Moskva WCF
1
18 November 2018 2-1 vs. Croatia, The National Stadium, Wembley NLP 1
22 March 2019 5-0 vs. Czech Republic, The National Stadium, Wembley ECP 1
25 March 2019 5-1 vs. Montenegro, Stadion Pod Goricom, Podgorica ECP 1
7 September 2019 4-0 vs. Bulgaria, The National Stadium, Wembley ECP
3
10 September 2019 5-3 vs. Kosovo, St. Mary's Stadium, Southampton ECP 1
11 October 2019 1-2 vs. Czech Republic, Sinobo Stadium, Praha ECP
1
14 October 2019 6-0 vs. Bulgaria, Natsionalen Stadion Vasil Levski, Sofija ECP 1
14 November 2019 7-0 vs. Montenegro, The National Stadium, Wembley ECP 3
17 November 2019 4-0 vs. Kosovo, Stadiumi Fadil Vokrro, Prishtinë ECP 1

124 Harry Maguire
 Manchester United
12 November 2020 3-0 vs. Republic of Ireland, The National Stadium, Wembley Fr 1
122 Raheem Sterling
 Manchester City
25 March 2021 5-0 vs. San Marino, The National Stadium, Wembley WCP 1


119

Harry
Kane

 Tottenham Hotspur
28 March 2021 2-0 vs. Albania, Air Albania Stadium, Tiranë WCP 1
31 March 2021 2-1 vs. Poland, The National Stadium, Wembley WCP
1
125 Marcus Rashford
 Manchester United
6 June 2021 1-0 vs. Romania, Riverside Stadium, Middlesbrough Fr
1

119

Harry
Kane

 Tottenham Hotspur
29 June 2021 2-0 vs. Germany, National Stadium, Wembley ECF 1
3 July 2021 4-0 vs. Ukraine, Stadio Olimpico, Roma ECF 2
7 July 2021 2-1 vs. Denmark, National Stadium, Wembley ECF 1
2 September 2021 4-0 vs. Hungary, Puskás Aréna, Budapest WCP 1
8 September 2021 1-1 vs. Poland, Stadion Narodowy, Warszawa WCP 1
12 November 2021 5-0 vs. Albania, The National Stadium, Wembley WCP 3
15 November 2021 10-0 vs. San Marino, San Marino Stadium, Serravalle WCP
4
26 March 2022 2-1 vs. Switzerland, The National Stadium, Wembley Fr
1
122 Raheem Sterling
 Manchester City
29 March 2022 3-0 vs. Côte d'Ivoire, The National Stadium, Wembley Fr 1

119

Harry
Kane

 Tottenham Hotspur
7 June 2022 1-1 vs. Germany, Allianz Arena, München NLP
1
26 September 2022 3-3 vs. Germany, The National Stadium, Wembley NLP
1
4 December 2022 3-0 vs. Senegal, Āstād āl-Bayt, Al Khawr WCF 1
10 December 2022 1-2 vs. France, Āstād āl-Bayt, Al Khawr WCF 1
23 March 2023 2-1 vs. Italy, Stadio Diego Maradona, Napoli ECP
1
26 March 2023 2-0 vs. Ukraine, The National Stadium, Wembley ECP 1
16 June 2023 4-0 vs. Malta, Stadium Nazzjonali, Ta' Qali ECP
2
19 June 2023 7-0 vs. North Macedonia, Old Trafford, Manchester ECP
1
 Bayern München 12 September 2023 3-1 vs. Scotland, The National Stadium, Glasgow Fr 1
17 October 2023 3-1 vs. Italy, The National Stadium, Wembley ECP
2
20 June 2024 1-1 vs. Denmark, Deutsche Bank Park, Frankfurt ECF 1
30 June 2024 2-1 vs. Slovakia, Veltins-Arena, Gelsenkirchen ECF 1
6 July 2024 2-1 vs. Netherlands, Signal Iduna Park, Dortmund ECF 1
10 September 2024 2-0 vs. Finland, National Stadium, Wembley NLP
2



England's Top Goalscoring Captains since 1872
243-241 goals by 37 or 38 captains
59 Harry Kane
22 Vivian Woodward
20 Bryan Robson, Alan Shearer
16 David Beckham
14 Wayne Rooney
10 Gary Lineker, Kevin Keegan, David Platt
7 Gilbert Smith (7 possibly 5, see notes)
6 Michael Owen
5 John Terry, Steven Gerrard,
4 Johnny Haynes, Tinsley Lindley
3 Mick Channon, Billy Wright
2 John Goodall, David Jack, Frank Lampard, Bobby Moore, Stuart Pearce, Francis Sparks, Raheem Sterling
1 Charles Alcock, Norman Bailey, Charlie Bambridge, Jack Brodie, Charlie Buchan, Bobby Charlton, Arthur Cursham, Rio Ferdinand, Gerry Francis, Cunliffe Gosling (1 possibly 0, see notes), Stanley Harris, Harry Maguire, Ernest Needham, Marcus Rashford, Ray Wilkins


Trivia: Of the 661 British Championship goals, England Captain's were responsible for scoring thirty of them, possibly even as much as 33 goals, depending on the source.

Notes: Scoring in matches as captain in a row:-
Vivian Woodward did it first, scoring six in three captaincies in a row - 1908, and he did it again, scoring another eight in three captaincies in 1909.

Kevin Keegan, in the summer of 1979, scored four in four. Bryan Robson then scored five goals in three captaincies in 1984. Alan Shearer, after scoring in his first two as captain, then did three in a row in 1997. Despite his twenty goals as captain - he never did it again, never more than two matches in a row, anyway. Michael Owen did four in three, these were spaced out two in 2003, one in 2004 and the last in 2005. Step forward Wayne Rooney.... who scored six in five in 2014-15. He then did four in four in 2015.

From being awarded the armband - the history is thus:-
Jack Goodall did it first - scored two goals in his only two captaincies. 1891-94, David Jack then scored one each in his first two captaincies in 1930. Mick Channon scored three in his first (and only) two captaincies 1976-77. Gary Lineker scored in each of his first two captaincies in 1990. However, David Platt managed five in his first three in 1993. Alan Shearer scored in each of his first two in 1996, as did Michael Owen in 2002.

Harry Kane, spans both lists, in his first eight captaincies in 2017-18 he scored twelve goals
.


CG