World Cup
England’s top World Cup goalscorers of all time
England begin their 2022 FIFA World Cup campaign in just over four weeks’ time when they locks horns with Iran on Monday 21st November. Spurs striker Harry Kane will lead the 1966 winners out at the Khalifa International Stadium, having netted an impressive six goals in his six World Cup appearances – but who is the highest goalscorer for England in the 92-year history of the competition?
Ahead of this year’s edition in Qatar, we’ve decided to take a look at the five most prolific players for the Three Lions in previous World Cup tournaments.
Gary Lineker – 10 goals
The runaway top goalscorer for England in World Cups is former Leicester City and Tottenham striker Gary Lineker. Having featured in both the 1986 and 1990 World Cups, the current Match of the Day presenter amassed an impressive ten goals in those two tournaments.
In 1986 he was the tournament’s top scorer with six goals, making him the first English player to win the Golden Boot award, as England crashed out in the quarter-finals thanks to Diego Maradona’s infamous ‘Hand of God’ goal. The Leicester-born forward then netted four times in the 1990 competition to help England reach the semi-finals, taking his tally to double figures across his two World Cup campaigns.
Harry Kane – 6 goals
Despite only featuring in one World Cup tournament, currently England captain Harry Kane is the country’s second highest goalscorer in the competition. The Spurs marksman netted a record-equalling six goals in the 2018 edition in Russia, mirroring Lineker’s tally from 1986 and additionally seeing him scoop the Golden Boot at the first time of asking.
Kane netted five goals in his opening two fixtures in that tournament, with his hattrick against Panama coming after scoring an injury-time winner against Tunisia in the first group game. Kane then failed to score a goal from open play for the remainder of the tournament as England were beaten in the semi-final by Croatia after extra-time, with his only other strike coming as a penalty against Colombia in the round of 16.
Geoff Hurst – 5 goals
Third on the list of top scorers for England in World Cups is the legendary Geoff Hurst, commonly known for his heroics in the 1966 World Cup final that saw the hosts claim their only ever tournament triumph. He remains the only player in history to score a hattrick in a World Cup final after his treble in England’s victory over West Germany at Wembley.
Hurst, who spent 14 years at West Ham United, then netted twice in the proceeding 1970 World Cup, scoring the only goal of England’s tournament opener against Romania before netting again against West Germany in the quarter-finals. Sadly for fans of the Three Lions, England could not repeat their success over their old-time rivals, losing 3-2 after extra-time to relinquish their World Cup crown.
Michael Owen – 4 goals
There are two English players to have netted four goals in World Cups, but we’ll place former Liverpool and Newcastle striker Michael Owen in fourth position on the technicality that he appeared in fewer games (12).
Owen was only 18 when appearing at the 1998 World Cup in France, making him the youngest ever player to feature in the competition for England. The forward went one further when he netted the equaliser in England’s 2-1 defeat against Romania in the group stage. Owen then netted an iconic individual goal against Argentina in the second round, a game England ultimately went on to lose.
Four years later, Owen featured again for England in the 2002 World Cup in South Korea and Japan. After failing to net in any of the Three Lions’ group stage fixtures, Owen scored twice in the knockout stages, including in England’s quarter-final defeat to Brazil.
Bobby Charlton – 4 goals
Last on the prestigious list of England World Cup goalscorers is Bobby Charlton, who played a major part in England’s 1966 World Cup winning squad. The Manchester United legend actually netted in the 1962 edition in England’s 3-1 win over Argentina, before scoring three goals four years later.
Having netted in England’s second group game against Mexico, Charlton arguably made a name for himself with his two strikes against Portugal in the semi-finals, taking his tally to four goals in two competitions. Despite having a relatively quiet game in the 1966 final, he will undoubtedly go down as an England great for his contribution throughout the tournament.
