Harry Kane’s rescue of England against the Democratic Republic of Congo in Atlanta on Wednesday night took his remarkable body of work with England to a point where he has to be regarded as the country’s greatest player since 1966.
I have ranked the best England players I have seen play live here. Although Steven Gerrard, Frank Lampard, Paul Scholes, Rio Ferdinand and David Beckham are among the best English players I’ve ever seen, they rarely shone on the tournament stage. Their best moments were for their clubs so they do not make this list.
1. Harry Kane
Caps: 118; Goals: 84
It’s about more than numbers but his numbers are ridiculous. To have scored more goals for his country that Wayne Rooney and Alan Shearer combined says all you need to know about his stature.
To have scored 84 goals in 118 appearances for England puts him in Jimmy Greaves territory in goals-per-game ratio and there is not much higher praise than that.
Now our leading scorer at World Cups, Kane has been underrated most of his career but he has also played in the final of the European Championships twice and a World Cup semi-final. His consistency, as well as his brilliance, is remarkable.
Harry Kane’s numbers are ridiculous – but it’s about more than that. His consistency, as well as his brilliance, is remarkable
2. Paul Gascoigne
Caps: 57; Goals: 10
His light only shone briefly but it shone brightly. Gascoigne might have been ‘as daft as a brush’, as Sir Bobby Robson called him, but he was a genius with a football.
He is patronised regularly but he had the best football brain of any player England has produced since 1966. His vision was breathtaking and he had a wonderfully keen awareness of space and movement.
His performances at the 1990 World Cup helped to inspire the football boom that is still feeding English football today. His goal against Scotland at Euro 96 remains one of the greatest England goals I have ever seen live.
Paul Gascoigne’s goal against Scotland at Euro 96 remains one of the greatest England goals I have ever seen live
3. Wayne Rooney
Caps: 120; Goals: 53
When Rooney made his major tournament debut at the 2004 European Championships, he threatened to take them by storm.
The way he terrorised the France defence in England’s opening group game at the Estadio da Luz was one of the best, most startling, displays by an England forward. I still believe England would have won that tournament if Rooney had not been injured in the quarter-finals but he never shone quite as brightly again.
A complete centre forward, like Kane, he worked selflessly for the team and was the man who beat Sir Bobby Charlton’s scoring record.
The way Wayne Rooney terrorised the France defence in England’s opening group game of Euro 2004 was one of the best, most startling, displays by an England forward
4. Bryan Robson
Caps: 90; Goals: 26
He was nicknamed ‘Captain Marvel’ because of his habit of producing super-human performances in midfield.
He was a titan of a box-to-box player but his appearances in major tournaments for England were blighted by injury. He still managed to create one of his country’s most memorable post-1966 moments when he scored after 27 seconds in England’s first group game of the 1982 World Cup against France and would have had far more than 90 caps if his habit of putting his body on the line had not cost him so dearly.
5. Ashley Cole
Caps: 107; Goals: 0
Cole was the best left-back in the world for much of his career and will go down in legend as one of the only players to have got the better of Cristiano Ronaldo when they came up against each other for their national teams.
Cole, one of England’s so-called Golden Generation, won all the biggest prizes in club football and earned 107 caps for England as a left-back who was both a marauding attacker and a consummate defender. He is a reminder of the days when England’s defence was a strength, unlike now.
6. Gary Lineker
Caps: 80; Goals: 48
His excellence as a television presenter may have obscured the fact, for a younger generation, that he was one of our greatest forwards.
He was a dead-eyed predator in front of goal, he resuscitated England’s hopes at the 1986 World Cup and scored the equaliser in the 1990 World Cup semi-final that took England’s game with West Germany to a penalty shoot-out.
Until Kane surpassed him at this tournament, Lineker was England’s record goalscorer at the World Cup and came within one of equalling Bobby Charlton’s then England goalscoring record of 49 goals.
Gary Lineker resuscitated England’s hopes at the 1986 World Cup
7. Alan Shearer
Caps: 63; Goals: 30
Shearer was a commanding centre forward blessed with a cannonball right foot and great ability in the air.
Like Robson, his international career was shortened by injuries and like Robson, he was admired for the indomitability he brought to the game when he was on the pitch. He scored 30 times in 63 games for England and was a central figure in England’s run to the semi-finals of Euro 96, where he was top scorer with five goals.
His thunderous strike in the 4-1 demolition of Holland at Wembley in that tournament was the best England team goal I have seen live.
8. Stuart Pearce
Caps: 78; Goals: 5
One of the most inspirational figures in English football history, Pearce was a defender who was part of the England team at the 1990 World Cup that came as close as any England team has come to ending the 60 years of hurt since 1966.
Pearce had a penalty saved in the shoot-out at the end of that tournament’s semi-final but his redemption, when he scored in another shoot-out, against Spain, at Euro 96, caught the public imagination both for the courage it showed and for the vivid depiction of just how much playing for his country meant to him.
When Stuart Pearce scored in another shoot-out at Euro 96 he caught the public imagination both for the courage it showed and for the vivid depiction of just how much playing for his country meant to him
9. Michael Owen
Caps: 89; Goals: 40
Owen burst on to the scene like Boy Wonder at the 1998 World Cup and scored the best individual England goal I’ve seen live with a stunning individual strike against Argentina in England’s second round defeat.
His pace and his coolness under pressure made him a deadly finisher who scored a hat-trick in England’s famous 5-1 away against Germany in Munich in 2001. He put England ahead in the quarter final against Brazil at the 2002 World Cup but his tournament career was brought to a sad halt by a serious knee injury in Germany four years later.
Michael Owen’s strike against Argentina at the 1998 World Cup is the best individual England goal I’ve seen live
10. Terry Butcher
Caps: 77; Goals: 3
Butcher was an uncompromising defender who was celebrated for his unyielding attitude and his refusal to be cowed by the opposition.
Terry Butcher was an uncompromising defender who was celebrated for his unyielding attitude
He was an accomplished reader of the game and an inspiring leader who was an integral part of the team that advanced to that World Cup semi-final against Germany in 1990.
Oh, and he’s the only player on this list that I’ve shared a pitch with. Butch played for the England press team in a match in Poland in the late 90s. My football skills were beyond help but he did tell me to tuck my shirt in.
