Newspaper reports conflict on who was the actual captain against Wales on 18 January 1879, in spite of the match lasting only for one hour.  Three reports, The Field, The Sportsman and Football Annual give the captaincy to 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.

England's Part Time Captains 1919-1939
Capt No.	Player  Club	Date	Result - Opponent - Venue	reason
51	Jack Hill  Burnley	22 October 1927	0-2 vs. Ireland, Windsor Park, Belfast	Injured (ht) not replaced

 

England's Part Time Captains 1946-2024
Capt No.	Player  Club	Date	Result - Opponent - Venue	reason
77	Emlyn Hughes  Liverpool	16 May 1978	1-0 vs. Northern Ireland, Empire Stadium, Wembley	▼73
85	Dave Watson  Southampton	23 May 1981	0-1 vs. Scotland, Wembley Stadium, Wembley	▼ht
80	Kevin Keegan  Southampton	29 May 1982	1-0 vs. Scotland, Hampden Park, Glasgow	▼56
90	Bryan Robson  Manchester United	1 June 1983	2-0 vs. Scotland, Wembley Stadium, Wembley	▼25
87	Peter Shilton  Southampton	19 June 1983	1-1 vs. Australia, Olympic Park Stadium, Melbourne	▼ht
90	Bryan Robson  Manchester United	17 October 1984	5-0 vs. Finland, Wembley Stadium, Wembley	▼75
		26 March 1985	2-1 vs. Republic of Ireland, Wembley Stadium, Wembley	▼82
		12 June 1985	3-0 vs. West Germany, Estadio Azteca, ciudad de México	▼73
		16 June 1985	5-0 vs. United States, Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, Los Angeles	▼63
		16 October 1985	5-0 vs. Turkey, Wembley Stadium, Wembley	▼66
89	Ray Wilkins  Manchester United	23 April 1986	2-1 vs. Scotland, Wembley Stadium, Wembley	▼ht
90	Bryan Robson  Manchester United	17 May 1986	3-0 vs. Mexico, Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, Los Angeles	▼71
89	Ray Wilkins  Manchester United	24 May 1986	1-0 vs. Canada, Swangard Stadium, Burnaby	▼73
90	Bryan Robson  Manchester United	3 June 1986	0-1 vs. Portugal, Estadio Tecnologico, Monterrey	▼80
		6 June 1986	0-0 vs. Morocco, Estadio Tecnologico, Monterrey	▼41
		11 November 1987	4-1 vs. Yugoslavia, Stadion JNA, Beograde	▼76
		28 May 1988	1-0 vs. Switzerland, Stade Olympique de la Pontaise, Lausanne	▼79
		15 November 1989	0-0 vs. Italy, Wembley Stadium, Wembley	▼ht
		13 December 1989	2-1 vs. Yugoslavia, Wembley Stadium, Wembley	▼75
		25 April 1990	4-2 vs. Czechoslovakia, Wembley Stadium, Wembley	▼76
		16 June 1990	0-0 vs. Netherlands, Stadio Renato Sant'Elia, Casteddu	▼64
91	Terry Butcher  Rangers	1 July 1990	3-2 vs. Cameronᴭᵀ, Stadio San Paolo, Napoli	▼73
		4 July 1990	1-1 vs. West Germanyᴭᵀ, Stadio Delle Alpi, Torino	▼70
93	Gary Lineker  Tottenham Hotspur	17 October 1990	2-0 vs. Poland, Wembley Stadium, Wembley	▼57
90	Bryan Robson  Manchester United	6 February 1991	2-0 vs. Cameroon, Wembley Stadium, Wembley	▼70
93	Gary Lineker  Tottenham Hotspur	1 June 1991	1-0 vs. Australia, Sydney Football Stadium, Sydney	▼81
		12 May 1992	1-0 vs. Hungary, Népstadion, Budapest	▼68
		17 June 1992	1-2 vs. Sweden, Råsunda Fotbollstadion, Solna	▼64
97	Paul Ince  Manchester United	13 June 1993	1-1 vs. Brazil, Robert F. Kennedy Stadium, Washington	▼67
96	David Platt  Sampdoria	15 February 1995	vs. Republic of Ireland, Lansdowne Road, Dublin	abandoned - 27
98	Tony Adams  Arsenal	23 May 1996	3-0 vs. China, Workers' Stadium, Beijing	▼77
99	Alan Shearer  Newcastle United	23 May 1998	0-0 vs. Saudi Arabia, Wembley Stadium, Wembley	▼74
101	Sol Campbell  Tottenham Hotspur	29 May 1998	0-0 vs. Belgium, Complexe Sportif Mohammed V, Casablanca	▼76
99	Alan Shearer  Newcastle United	10 October 1999	2-1 vs. Belgium, Stadium of Light, Sunderland	▼86
		23 February 2000	0-0 vs. Argentina, Wembley Stadium, Wembley	▼77
		27 May 2000	1-1 vs. Brazil, Wembley Stadium, Wembley	▼84
		3 June 2000	2-1 vs. Malta, Stadium Nazzjonali, Ħ'Attard	▼51
98	Tony Adams  Arsenal	2 September 2000	1-1 vs. France, Wembley Stadium, Wembley	▼ht
103	David Beckham  Manchester United	28 February 2001	3-0 vs. Spain, Villa Park, Birmingham	▼ht
		25 May 2001	4-0 vs. Mexico, Pride Park, Derby	▼ht
		15 August 2001	0-2 vs. Netherlands, White Hart Lane, Tottenham	▼ht
		27 March 2002	1-2 vs. Italy, Elland Road, Leeds	▼ht
104	Michael Owen  Liverpool	17 April 2002	4-0 vs. Paraguay, Anfield Road, Liverpool	▼ht
		21 May 2002	1-1 vs. Korea Republic, Jeju World Cup Stadium, Seogwipo-si	▼ht
		26 May 2002	2-2 vs. Cameroon, Kobe Universiade Memorial Stadium, Kobe City	▼ht
103	David Beckham  Manchester United	2 June 2002	1-1 vs. Sweden, Saitama Sutajiamu Niimarumarunii, Saitama-shi	▼63
104	Michael Owen  Liverpool	7 September 2002	1-1 vs. Portugal, Villa Park, Birmingham	▼62
103	David Beckham  Manchester United	12 February 2003	1-3 vs. Australia, Boleyn Ground, Upton Park	▼ht
		29 March 2003	2-0 vs. Liechtenstein, Rheinpark Stadion, Vaduz	▼70
		22 May 2003	2-1 vs. South Africa, ABSA Stadium, Durban	▼51
104	Michael Owen  Liverpool	3 June 2003	2-1 vs. Serbia & Montenegro, Walkers Stadium, Leicester	▼ht
103	David Beckham  Real Madrid	20 August 2003	3-1 vs. Croatia, Portman Road, Ipswich	▼60
		10 September 2003	2-0 vs. Liechtenstein, Old Trafford, Manchester	▼58
		16 November 2003	2-3 vs. Denmark, Old Trafford, Manchester	▼66
		18 February 2004	1-1 vs. Portugal, Estádio Algarve, Almancil	▼86
105	Steven Gerrard  Liverpool	31 March 2004	0-1 vs. Sweden, Nya Ullevi Stadion, Göteborg	▼62
103	David Beckham  Real Madrid	1 June 2004	1-1 vs. Japan, City of Manchester Stadium, Manchester	▼81
		5 June 2004	6-1 vs. Iceland, City of Manchester Stadium, Manchester	▼ht
		8 September 2004	2-1 vs. Poland, Stadion Śląski, Chorzów	▼89
		9 October 2004	2-0 vs. Wales, Old Trafford, Manchester	▼85
		17 November 2004	0-1 vs. Spain, Estadio Santiago Bernabéu, Madrid	▼60
		9 February 2005	0-0 vs. Netherlands, Villa Park, Birmingham	▼82
		26 March 2005	4-0 vs. Northern Ireland, Old Trafford, Manchester	▼72
		30 March 2005	2-0 vs. Azerbaijan, St James' Park, Newcastle upon Tyne	▼84
101	Sol Campbell  Arsenal	28 May 2005	2-1 vs. United States, Soldier Field, Chicago	▼ht
103	David Beckham  Real Madrid	31 May 2005	3-2 vs. Colombia, Giants Stadium, New Jersey	▼73
		8 October 2005	1-0 vs. Austria, Old Trafford, Manchester	58
104	Michael Owen  Newcastle United	12 October 2005	2-1 vs. Poland, Old Trafford, Manchester	▼84
103	David Beckham  Real Madrid	1 March 2006	2-1 vs. Uruguay, Anfield Road, Liverpool	▼64
		3 June 2006	6-0 vs. Jamaica, Old Trafford, Manchester	▼68
		25 June 2006	1-0 vs. Ecuador, Gottlieb Daimler Stadion, Stuttgart	▼87
		1 July 2006	0-0 vs. Portugalᴭᵀ, Veltins Arena, Gelsinkirchen	▼51
105	Steven Gerrard  Liverpool	7 February 2007	0-1 vs. Spain, Old Trafford, Manchester	▼ht
106	John Terry  Chelsea	1 June 2007	1-1 vs. Brazil, The National Stadium, Wembley	▼73
105	Steven Gerrard  Liverpool	16 November 2007	1-0 vs. Austria, Ernst Happel Stadion, Wien	▼ht
103	David Beckham  LA Galaxy	1 June 2008	3-0 vs. Trinidad & Tobago, Hasely Crawford Stadium, Port of Spain	▼ht
106	John Terry  Chelsea	10 September 2008	4-1 vs. Croatia, Stadion Maksimir, Zagreb	▼89
105	Steven Gerrard  Liverpool	3 March 2010	3-1 vs. Egypt, The National Stadium, Wembley	▼73
107	Rio Ferdinand  Manchester United	24 May 2010	3-1 vs. Mexico, The National Stadium, Wembley	▼ht
105	Steven Gerrard  Liverpool	11 August 2010	2-1 vs. Hungary, The National Stadium, Wembley	▼82
107	Rio Ferdinand  Manchester United	17 November 2010	1-2 vs. France, The National Stadium, Wembley	▼ht
109	Frank Lampard  Chelsea	9 February 2011	2-1 vs. Denmark, Parken Stadion, København	▼ht
		12 November 2011	1-0 vs. Spain, The National Stadium, Wembley	▼57
105	Steven Gerrard  Liverpool	26 May 2012	1-0 vs. Norway, Ullevål Stadion, Oslo	▼ht
		2 June 2012	1-0 vs. Belgium, The National Stadium, Wembley	▼83
109	Frank Lampard  Chelsea	15 August 2012	2-1 vs. Italy, Stade de Suisse, Bern	▼69
105	Steven Gerrard  Liverpool	7 September 2012	5-0 vs. Moldova, Zimbru Stadium, Chişinău	▼ht
		11 September 2012	1-1 vs. Ukraine, The National Stadium, Wembley	88
108	Wayne Rooney  Manchester United	12 October 2012	5-0 vs. San Marino, The National Stadium, Wembley	▼73
105	Steven Gerrard  Liverpool	14 November 2012	2-4 vs. Sweden, Nationalarenan Friends Arena, Stockholm	▼75
109	Frank Lampard  Chelsea	22 March 2013	8-0 vs. San Marino, Stadio Olimpico, Serravalle	▼67
112	Ashley Cole  Chelsea	29 May 2013	1-1 vs. Republic of Ireland, The National Stadium, Wembley	▼54
105	Steven Gerrard  Liverpool	14 August 2013	3-2 vs. Scotland, The National Stadium, Wembley	▼62
		11 October 2013	4-1 vs. Montenegro, The National Stadium, Wembley	▼87
109	Frank Lampard  Chelsea	15 November 2013	0-2 vs. Chile, The National Stadium, Wembley	▼71
105	Steven Gerrard  Liverpool	19 November 2013	0-1 vs. Germany, The National Stadium, Wembley	▼56
		30 May 2014	3-0 vs. Peru, The National Stadium, Wembley	▼64
		7 June 2014	0-0 vs. Honduras, Sun Life Stadium, Miami Gardens	▼ht
109	Frank Lampard  Chelsea	24 June 2014	0-0 vs. Costa Rica, Estádio Governador Magalhães Pinto, Belo Horizonte	®73
108	Wayne Rooney  Manchester United	3 September 2014	1-0 vs. Norway, The National Stadium, Wembley	▼70
		8 September 2014	2-0 vs. Switzerland, Sankt-Jakob Park, Basel	▼90
		27 March 2015	4-0 vs. Lithuania, The National Stadium, Wembley	▼72
		7 June 2015	0-0 vs. Republic of Ireland, The Aviva Stadium, Dublin	▼75
		5 September 2015	6-0 vs. San Marino, San Marino Stadium, Serravalle	▼58
115	Joe Hart  Manchester City	13 November 2015	0-2 vs. Spain, Estádio José Rico Pérez, Alicante	®73
116	James Milner  Liverpool	29 March 2016	1-2 vs. Netherlands, The National Stadium, Wembley	▼82
117	Chris Smalling Manchester United	27 May 2016	2-1 vs. Australia, Stadium of Light, Sunderland	▼73
108	Wayne Rooney  Manchester United	2 June 2016	1-0 vs. Portugal, The National Stadium, Wembley	▼78
		11 June 2016	1-1 vs. Russia, Stade Vélodrome, Marseille	▼78
113	Gary Cahill  Chelsea	20 June 2016	0-0 vs. Slovakia, Stade Geoffroy-Guichard, Saint Etienne	®56
108	Wayne Rooney  Manchester United	27 June 2016	1-2 vs. Iceland, Allianz Riviera, Nice	▼86
118	Jordan Henderson  Liverpool	11 October 2016	0-0 vs. Slovenia, Stadion Stožice, Ljubljana	®73
119	Harry Kane  Tottenham Hotspur	2 June 2018	2-1 vs. Nigeria, The National Stadium, Wembley	▼73
118	Jordan Henderson  Liverpool	7 June 2018	2-0 vs. Costa Rica, Elland Road, Leeds	▼64
119	Harry Kane  Tottenham Hotspur	24 June 2018	6-1 vs. Panama, Stadion Nizhny Novgorod, Nizhny Novgorod	▼64
121	Fabian Delph  Manchester City	15 November 2018	3-0 vs. United States, The National Stadium, Wembley	®58
119	Harry Kane  Tottenham Hotspur	25 March 2019	5-1 vs. Montenegro, Stadion Pod Goricom, Podgorica	▼83
122	Raheem Sterling  Manchester City	6 June 2019	1-3 vs. Netherlands, Estádio Dom Afonso Henriques, Guimarães	®ht
119	Harry Kane  Tottenham Hotspur	9 June 2019	0-0 vs. Switzerland, Estádio Dom Afonso Henriques, Guimarães	▼83
		7 September 2019	4-0 vs. Bulgaria, The National Stadium, Wembley	▼77
		14 November 2019	7-0 vs. Montenegro, The National Stadium, Wembley	▼57
		5 September 2020	1-0 vs. Iceland, Laugardalsvöllur, Reykjavík	▼78
123	Kieran Trippier  Atlético Madrid	8 October 2020	3-0 vs. Wales, The National Stadium, Wembley	▼58
118	Jordan Henderson  Liverpool	11 October 2020	2-1 vs. Belgium, The National Stadium, Wembley	▼66
119	Harry Kane  Tottenham Hotspur	18 November 2020	4-0 vs. Iceland, The National Stadium, Wembley	▼76
122	Raheem Sterling  Manchester City	25 March 2021	5-0 vs. San Marino, The National Stadium, Wembley	®ht
119	Harry Kane  Tottenham Hotspur	31 March 2021	2-1 vs. Poland, The National Stadium, Wembley	▼89
		2 June 2021	1-0 vs. Austria, Riverside Stadium, Middlesbrough	▼61
125	Marcus Rashford  Manchester United	6 June 2021	1-0 vs. Romania, Riverside Stadium, Middlesbrough	▼75
119	Harry Kane  Tottenham Hotspur	13 June 2021	1-0 vs. Croatia, The National Stadium, Wembley	▼82
		18 June 2021	0-0 vs. Scotland, The National Stadium, Wembley	▼74
		3 July 2021	4-0 vs. Ukraine, Stadio Olimpico, Roma	▼73
118	Jordan Henderson  Liverpool	5 September 2021	4-0 vs. Andorra, The National Stadium, Wembley	®62
119	Harry Kane  Tottenham Hotspur	12 October 2021	1-1 vs. Hungary, The National Stadium, Wembley	▼76
		12 November 2021	5-0 vs. Albania, The National Stadium, Wembley	▼63
		15 November 2021	10-0 vs. San Marino, San Marino Stadium, Serravalle	▼62
		26 March 2022	2-1 vs. Switzerland, The National Stadium, Wembley	▼88
122	Raheem Sterling  Manchester City	29 March 2022	3-0 vs. Côte d'Ivoire, The National Stadium, Wembley	▼62
		11 June 2022	0-0 vs. Italy, Molineux Stadium, Wembley	®65
119	Harry Kane  Tottenham Hotspur	21 November 2022	6-2 vs. Iran, Istād Khalīfah, Al Rayyan	▼76
		29 November 2022	3-0 vs. Wales, Ahmad Bin Ali Stadium, Al Rayyan	▼58
		26 March 2023	2-0 vs. Ukraine, National Stadium, Wembley	▼81
		16 June 2023	4-0 vs. Malta, Stadium Nazzjonali, Ta' Qali	▼60
		19 June 2023	7-0 vs. North Macedonia, Old Trafford, Manchester	▼74
	Bayern München	12 September 2023	3-1 vs. Scotland, The National Stadium, Glasgow	▼86
118	Jordan Henderson  Al Ettifaq	13 October 2023	1-0 vs. Australia, The National Stadium, Wembley	▼61
126	Kyle Walker Manchester City	20 November 2023	1-1 vs. North Macedonia, Toše Proeski Arena, Skopje	®58
		23 March 2024	0-1 vs. Brazil, The National Stadium, Wembley	▼20
123	Kieran Trippier  Newcastle United	3 June 2024	3-0 vs. Bosnia & Herzegovina, St. James' Park, Newcastle upon Tyne	▼58
119	Harry Kane  Bayern München	7 June 2024	0-1 vs. Iceland, The National Stadium, Wembley	▼64
		20 June 2024	1-1 vs. Denmark, Deutsche Bank Park, Frankfurt	▼69
		30 June 2024	0-0 vs. Slovakia, Veltins-Arena, Gelsenkirchen	▼105
		6 July 2024	1-1 vs. Switzerland, Merkur Spiel-Arena, Düsseldorf	▼108
		10 July 2024	2-1 vs. Netherlands, Signal Iduna Park, Dortmund	▼81
		14 July 2024	1-2 vs. Spain, Olympiastadion, Berlin	▼61
		7 September 2024	2-0 vs. Republic of Ireland, The Aviva Stadium, Dublin	▼84
		10 September 2024	2-0 vs. Finland, National Stadium, Wembley	▼80
		13 October 2024	3-1 vs. Finland, Olympiastadion, Helsinki	▼69
126	Kyle Walker Manchester City	14 November 2024	3-0 vs. Greece, Olympiakó Stádio Spiros Louis, Athína	®66