England
- Wayne Rooney – Goals: 53
- Bobby Charlton – Goals: 49
- Harry Kane – Goals: 49
- Gary Lineker – Goals: 48
- Jimmy Greaves –Goals: 44
Bobby Charlton is one of the game’s all-time greats and he was the first England player to win the Ballon D’or. In fact, he won soccer’s most prestigious individual award the same year that England won the World Cup. The midfielder was just as capable distributing as he was scoring goals, particularly from long range.
Pele once called Bobby Moore the greatest defender he ever played against. Moore, who overcame cancer two years earlier, captained England to their only World Cup win. The West Ham legend made over 100 appearances for his country.
Gordon Banks is regarded as one of the best goalkeepers of all time and he was between the sticks for England’s World Cup win in 1966. He was named FIFA goalkeeper of the year six times and made, what is considered, one of the greatest saves ever on a Pele header in the 1970 World Cup.
Wayne Rooney is England’s all-time leading scorer, for now, as Harry Kane is hot on his heels. Although he was never able to win silverware with England national football team, the former Manchester United forward is one of their all-time most talented players. He also ranks second in all-time appearances.
David Beckham was and still is a global soccer icon but he split opinion early on in his international career. He was blamed for England’s round of 16 penalty shootout loss to Argentina in the 1998 World Cup, receiving death threats after getting sent off. He redeemed himself by scoring the free kick vs. Greece that sent England to the 2002 World Cup. Beckham became the first England national football team player to score in three different World Cups and has the third-most caps of any England player.
Harry Kane has one of the best goals-to-games ratios in England history. As of May 2022, he is only four goals away from breaking Wayne Rooney’s scoring record. The Tottenham Hotspur striker is one of only two England players to win the Golden Boot at a World Cup and he’s captained England during one of their most successful periods in their history.
England’s 1966 World Cup win on home soil seemingly came out of nowhere as they had never made it past the quarterfinals in four previous tries. In the group stage, Bobby Charlton and Roger Hunt starred.
The Three Lions drew their first match with Uruguay but picked up a 2-0 win over Mexico as Charlton and Hunt were on the scoresheet. In the group finale, Hunt scored a brace in a 2-0 win vs. France.
England national football team advanced as group winners without Gordon Banks conceding a single goal. The Three Lions defeated Argentina 1-0 in the quarterfinal as Geoff Hurst scored the game’s only goal. Charlton scored both of England’s goals in a 2-1 semifinal win over Portugal which set up a final clash vs. West Germany.
Germany struck first but Hurst scored minutes later. The match stood at 1-1 until the 78th minute, when Martin Peters gave England a 2-1 lead that they’d ultimately blow just before the 90th minute. The match, level at 2-2, was just the second World Cup final to go into extra time.
Charlton struck the post early on in extra time and England scored one of the most controversial goals in World Cup history minutes later. A Hurst shot hit the crossbar, bounced down and the referee was unsure whether the entirety of the ball crossed the goal line. His linesman informed him that he thought it did and the World Cup winning goal was awarded.
More controversy came when some England fans stormed the Wembley pitch one minute before the final whistle. Hurst pressed on and sent a shot into the top corner which stood and sealed England’s first and only World Cup victory.
On the other hand, the 2014 World Cup in Brazil was an unmitigated disaster for England. In all fairness, they were in a tough group with Italy, Uruguay and Costa Rica but their performance was the worst in their history. They dropped a hard fought opener to Italy, who had eliminated them at Euro 2012, 2-1.
Then, a Luis Suarez double sent England home as they lost to Uruguay in their next match by another 2-1 scoreline. With nothing to play for but pride in their last match, England drew with eventual group winners Costa Rica, 0-0. It was the first time since 1958 that the Three Lions were eliminated in the group stage.
England Soccer Team History
Beginnings and World Cup Win
England national football team has the oldest national team in the world, along with Scotland. The two nations contested the first recognized international match in 1872, which finished in a scoreless draw. Other important milestones in the early years of the England soccer team were joining FIFA in 1906 and the opening of historic Wembley Stadium in 1923. Wembley has been their home ground ever since.
The Three Lions were not a participant at the first World Cup in 1930 as they left FIFA in 1928 and didn’t rejoin until 1946. That meant 1950 was the first ever England World Cup appearance. Brazil 1950 was a big disappointment for England as they won just one of their three matches and suffered an embarrassing 1-0 loss to the USA.
Four years later, the Three Lions made it out of the first round for the first time, losing 4-2 to Uruguay in the quarterfinals. Alf Ramsey was appointed as manager in 1963 and the most successful period in team history followed.
England hosted the World Cup for the first time in 1966 and were able to play all of their home matches at Wembley. The Three Lions drew their first match but didn’t concede a single goal in the group stage, advancing as group winners.
Led by legends Bobby Moore, Jimmy Greaves, and Bobby Charlton – the Three Lions won all three of their knockout stage matches to win their first and only World Cup title. England beat West Germany 4-2 in an eventful final that went into extra time.
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End of the Ramsey Era
In 1968, England competed at the European Championships for the first time. They qualified for the semifinal round and managed to snag third place. World Cup winner Ramsey was fired after making the quarterfinals at World Cup 1970 and failing to qualify four years later.
The Three Lions had a tough time qualifying and getting out of the group stage in major tournaments for the next decade. That was until Bobby Robson was appointed and England were eliminated in the quarterfinals of the 1986 World Cup by Diego Maradona and Argentina. Maradona scored the iconic “Hand of God” and “Goal of the Century” goals in that famous match. Striker Gary Lineker also won the golden boot despite England’s elimination.
England national football team exceeded expectations at the 1990 World Cup, Robson’s last in charge, as they made the semifinals. They were eliminated by West Germany in penalties after a grueling 1-1 draw. Graham Taylor was appointed as Robson’s successor after the tournament but he found little success. England failed to win a single game at Euro 92 and failed to qualify for the 1994 World Cup, which led to Taylor’s resignation.
Terry Venables succeeded Taylor and led England to their then-best performance at a European Championship in 1996. Like in 1968, England were eliminated on penalties by Germany in the semifinals but striker Alan Shearer won the Golden Boot.
21st Century
Sven-Goran Eriksson became the first foreign manager in national team history when he was appointed in 2001. He guided England to three consecutive quarter finals in major tournaments but was ultimately replaced after Portugal defeated England in the 2006 World Cup.
At the 2014 World Cup, England exited in the group stage for the first time since 1958 and were eliminated by Iceland in the round of 16 of the 2016 Euros. Since Gareth Southgate took over in 2016, England made the semifinals of the 2018 World Cup and were runners up at Euro 2020.
Striker Harry Kane, who is almost certain to finish his career as England’s top scorer, won the Golden Boot at Russia 2018. At Euro 2020, England national football team heartbreakingly lost in penalties to Italy but came in second place for the first time in their history.
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