Andorra and Hungary present Kane with great chance to overhaul Greaves' England goalscoring tally
- George Attwood
- 6 October 2021
With games against Group I's lesser lights coming up, Harry Kane will be looking to move past another Tottenham legend, Jimmy Greaves, in the England goalscoring charts.
Tributes from around the world poured in for Jimmy Greaves last month following his death, aged 81.
Regarded as England's most natural goalscorer, Greaves netted 44 goals in 57 appearances for his country and 366 in a club career which saw him represent Chelsea, AC Milan, West Ham and, most notably, Tottenham.
It is perhaps fitting therefore that another Spurs legend, Harry Kane, has the chance to overhaul Greaves' England tally in the coming week.
With games against Group I minnows Andorra and Hungary coming up, Kane will be confident of adding to his current haul of 41 England goals.
However, he still has some way to go to reach top spot, with Wayne Rooney heading the England goalscoring charts on 53.
Wayne Rooney - 53
Rooney made 120 appearances for England - the most by an outfield player - and is also the record goalscorer for his country with 53 goals.
He burst onto the international scene as a fresh-faced youngster at Euro 2004, briefly becoming the youngest player to score at a European Championship. He went on to score four goals in the competition and was named in the team of the tournament.
Rooney played in three successive World Cups - 2006, 2010 and 2014 - and also captained his country, scoring in his first game with the armband, a 1-0 win over Norway.
Sir Bobby Charlton - 49
Sir Bobby Charlton is one of the greatest midfielders to have played the game. He scored 49 goals for England and held the record as top goalscorer for 45 years before it was broken by Rooney. Charlton was a member of the World Cup-winning side of 1966.
After the 1962 World Cup, Charlton was moved to attacking midfielder by new manager Sir Alf Ramsey. Ahead of the home World Cup in 1966, Ramsey told Charlton the squad would be built around him. Even after he moved more centrally, Charlton still scored as freely and had the ability to influence the game more with his creativity.
Charlton played at three consecutive World Cups from 1962 to 1970. On the plane home from Mexico 1970, Charlton asked Ramsey not to select him for his country again, ending his international career at 32.
Gary Lineker - 48
Lineker scored 48 times in 80 appearances for his country, earning him a place in the English Football Hall of Fame.
He became the first Englishman to win a World Cup Golden Boot, scoring six times at Mexico '86. He was also the second Englishman to score a hat-trick at a World Cup after Geoff Hurst, with his treble against Poland the second quickest at a World Cup.
Four years after winning the Golden Boot in Mexico, Lineker scored four goals at Italia '90, helping England reach the semi-finals.
His international career ended in igniminious fashion, however, when he was substituted by Graham Taylor with half an hour of England's European Championship match with Sweden remaining. England lost the game 2-1 and Lineker finished an agonising one goal behind then-leader Charlton in the England goalscoring charts.
Lineker remains the top goalscorer for England at FIFA World Cups with 10 goals.
Jimmy Greaves - 44
Greaves scored 44 times in just 57 appearances for the Three Lions, including six hat-tricks, the most by an Englishman. His goals to games ratio of 0.77 also puts him well ahead of the other players on this list.
He played in both the 1962 and 1966 World Cups. In the 1966 World Cup, Greaves was injured during the group stage and lost his place to Geoff Hurst. Despite returning to fitness in time for the final, Hurst was selected over Greaves and well, the rest is history.
Initially, Greaves did not earn a medal for the win as FIFA only handed them out to the playing 11. An FA-led campaign saw Greaves presented a World Cup winners medal in 2009. In November 2014, Greaves's medal was sold at auction for £44,000.
Harry Kane - 41
England captain Harry Kane sits on 41 goals from 64 games and, aged just 28, still has plenty of time to rise up the list of England goalscorers.
Handed the captaincy in 2017, Kane became the second Englishman to win a World Cup Golden Boot as England reached the semi-final in 2018 - the best finish by the England men's side since 1966.
