Top 10 England Players

jonjoward1998
Jun 5
6 min read

The football season may be over, but that doesn't mean that I can stop doing my top 10's.

Because of the season being over, I've decided to do some international top 10's in the off season as we would normally every couple of years being watching a major tournament whether that be the Euros or the World Cup.

I did an international related top 10 during the last international break in England moments and I'm going to stick with the England theme this week.

This week's international top 10 is England players.

Playing for England is the greatest achievement for any player and whilst many have been lucky enough to play for England, some go on to become legends like most of the players in the list.

The majority of England legends were part of the World Cup winning squad in 1966 and they became legends by being an integral part of that side.

The other England legends may not have won anything like the legends of 66 did, but they still go down as legends because of how good they were for their country in major tournaments.

Now here is the list:

Paul Gascoigne

Paul Scholes

Harry Kane

Bobby Moore

Geoff Hurst

Wayne Rooney

Bobby Charlton

Gary Lineker

David Beckham

Alan Shearer

Alan Shearer

Shearer had to be in 10th for me because he only delivered at one major tournament in Euro 96, where he won the golden boot with 6 goals and England reached the semi finals.

I also had to factor in the fact that he went a year without scoring for his country going into that tournament.

He did score at the other two tournament he played in at the World Cup in 1998 and Euro 200, but he only netted twice and England didn't go very far in each of them.

Wayne Rooney

Rooney is one of the finest players England have ever produced, but like Shearer he only delivered at one tournament in his first one at Euro 2004, which was the tournament he announced himself on the European stage.

He did spend a good few years as England's record goal scorer, but he didn't deliver enough in major tournaments as he scored at just one World Cup in 2014, and once at his next two appearances at the Euros in 2012 and 2016.

In all fairness to him though, he was part of some poor England teams at the time and especially during his prime years as England were beginning to phase out the golden generation.

He was a great player for England in that he spent time as their record goal scorer, but his record in major tournaments was what held him back from becoming a legend.

David Beckham

Beckham was the finest crosser of a ball England have ever had and he went on some journey with England.

He became the most hated man in the country after being sent off against Argentina at the 1998 World Cup after which he got a lot of abuse.

He showed incredible character to come back from that as he slowly repaired his relationship with the England fans over the next couple of years, and it was that free kick against Greece to send England to the 2002 World Cup that got him back on side with the fans.

He was England's most capped outfield player for a number of years with 155 and captained them at three major tournaments in the 2002 and 2006 World Cup's and Euro 2004.

Harry Kane

Kane is England current captain and record goal scorer with 71 goals, a record that is likely to stand for many years.

He won the golden boot at the 2018 World Cup where England reached the semi finals, and netted 4 times at Euro 2020 as England reached the final only to lose to Italy on penalties.

He won another golden boot at the Euros last summer even though he didn't really deserve it as he or England were not at their best all tournament despite reaching another final.

He's gone very close to winning something with England in three of the six tournaments he played in and he'll be hoping to take England all the way at the World Cup next summer.

Paul Scholes

Scholes was an absolute magician on the ball on his day as he could play any kind of pass from pretty much anywhere on the pitch.

He played in four major tournaments with England in the 1998 and 2002 World Cup's and the Euros in 2000 and 2004. But I think he could've played longer because of how good a player he was, and the fact that he was still in his prime when he retired from England duty.

He was a box-to-box midfielder for most of his career, but he did reinvent himself as a deep lying playmaker later in his career and if only England used him in that role, they could've fit him, Gerrard and Lampard in the same team and the golden generation might've won something.

But it wasn't to be as Sven Goran Eriksson kept playing that rigid 4-4-2 which meant that one of the three had to play out of position.

Gary Lineker

Lineker won the golden boot at the 1986 World Cup where he scored 6 times and was part of the England side that reached the semi finals in 1990 where he netted 4 times.

He is currently fourth on the all-time goal charts with 48 and he only needed one goal to go level with Bobby Charlton who was the leading goal scorer at the time.

But he was controversially subbed off in his final game against Sweden at Euro 92 which England would go on to lose. Had he stayed on the pitch, he might've broken the record.

Geoff Hurst

Hurst was England's hat trick hero in the final of 1966 and it was his third goal on the day that won England the World Cup.

He was England's top goal scorer at that tournament with 4 goals with his hat trick in the final taking him above Bobby Charlton and Roger Hunt who were both on 3 going into the final.

He scored 24 times for England and will always be remembered for scoring that hat trick in the World Cup final.

Bobby Moore

Moore as pretty much everybody knows was England's World Cup winning captain in 1966 and he led by example with his performances throughout the tournament.

He was a top tackler, great in the air and was also comfortable in possession of the ball. He would've been great in today's game because as most centre halves these days are being told to be comfortable in possession.

Bobby Charlton

Charlton was England's record goal scorer for a number of years with 49 goals and was quite possibly the greatest striker England have ever had.

He scored 3 goals during England's World Cup winning campaign in 1966 where he was named player of the tournament and named in the team of the tournament.

He had everything as a player as he was versatile in that he could in both midfield and attack, was quick, agile, could score goals, and was a brilliant passer of the ball.

Paul Gascoigne

Gazza had to be my no.1 because he's the most technically gifted player England have ever had.

He was a good carrier of the ball, agile, skilful and a player who could do pretty much anything with the ball at his feet.

He showed that when he scored that incredible goal against Scotland at Euro 96 when he flicked the ball over the defender before hitting it first time on the volley.

He played a key role in that tournament as England went all the way to the semi finals and he was important player in the side that reached the World Cup semi finals a few years earlier in 1990.

He broke into tears during that semi final defeat to Germany after being booked which meant that he would miss the final had England got there. That moment is one of the most iconic in World Cup history.

MY TOP 10: