As the founder of the first football association in the world, it is not surprising that England is regarded as one of the strongest national football teams. This country has produced thousands of players who won numerous brilliant achievements. Some of them even won prestigious individual awards, for example as the world's best player.
Among thousands of great footballers in England, who should be called as the greatest striker? In this article, I will share a short review of 15 best England strikers of all time. Who are they? Without further ado, here's the list:
15. Dion Dublin
Although he only played for England national team in four international, Dion Dublin was known as a very brilliant player at club level. After two years spending more time as a substitute in Manchester United, Dublin decided to move to Coventry City. At this club, Dublin's potential as a striker developed at the maximum level. He scored 61 goals in 145 appearances and even managed to become the Premier League top scorer in the 1997-1998 season. In 1998, Dublin moved to Aston Villa, where he won an Intertoto Cup trophy in 2001.
14. Andy Cole
Andy Cole is a former striker who had a major role to help Manchester United achieve treble winners in the 1998-1999 season. His duet with Dwight Yorke was extremely feared by the opponents, as they scored a lot of great goals. Cole's accomplishments as a player are also quite a lot. He became the champion of the Premier League season 1992-1993 and became the top scorer in the 1993-1994 season. As Manchester United player, he won five Premier League titles, one Champions League trophy and two FA Cup.
13. Dixie Dean
Dixie Dean could be called as Everton's best player of all time. He played for Everton in the period 1925 to 1937, when he scored 349 goals in 399 appearances. Indeed, Dean is known as a very prolific striker in scoring goals. He also established a record as a player who can score the most goals in a single Premier League season, with a record of 61 goals. His productivity helped Everton win two Premier League titles.
12. Robbie Fowler
Robbie Fowler once was known as the best poacher in Premier League. He was very effective in converting chances into goals. Fowler's best career was when he played for Liverpool, where he was capable of scoring 120 goals in 236 appearances. Fowler was also a striker who played an important role in helping Liverpool win five titles in the 2000-2001 season. Upon entering old age, Fowler spent some time playing in Thailand's Premier League and Australian League before retiring in 2012.
11. Teddy Sheringham
There are not many strikers in England, even in the world who are able to show their best performances until the age of 40 years. One of the few examples is Teddy Sheringham, an ex-England striker who retired at the age of 42 years. In his 760 appearances as a professional football player, Sheringham scored 289 goals. One of the most memorable goal ever scored by Sheringham is in the final match against Bayern Munich in the Champions League 1998-1999. As a substitute, he scored a goal in the final minute to equalize the score, and one minute later, he gave an assist that led to Manchester United's victory.
10. Kevin Keegan
Kevin Keegan was a brilliant striker who was given a nickname "Mickey Mouse." His golden times as a player happened when he played for Liverpool in the period 1971 to 1977. At that moment, Keegan scored 68 goals in 238 appearances. Keegan was part of the Liverpool's golden generation, where he led the club claim the Premier League titles three times and twice became a runner-up of the competition in the period of six years.
9. Nat Lofthouse
Nat Lofthouse spent 14 years of his career playing for one club, Bolton Wanderers. He played from the period 1946 to 1960, scoring a total of 255 goals from 425 appearances. His performance with the English national team was also quite impressive, where Nat scored 30 goals from 33 appearances. Currently, Lofthouse listed as the seventh English League top scorer of all-time. As a player, he helped Bolton win the FA Cup in 1958.
8. Wayne Rooney
Being considered one of the best in the world's second striker, Wayne Rooney is famous for his versatility and strength. Starting his professional career at Everton, Rooney played so brilliantly in Euro 2004. In the tournament, he scored four goals. His impressive performances in Euro 2004 made Rooney was immediately signed by Manchester United. Together with the Red Devils, he won five Premier League titles and one Champions League trophy.
7. Ian Wright
Ian Wright is one of the greatest England strikers has ever owned by Arsenal. He played for Arsenal for seven years, from 1991 to 1998. During his career at the Gunners, Wright scored 128 goals. Wright's greatest achievements at Arsenal was winning the Premier League and Cup Winners' Cup. He also became the top scorer of English Division One in season 1991-1992. For England national team, Wright played 33 times and scored nine goals.
6. Jimmy Greaves
Jimmy Greaves was simply an amazing striker. He is not only a legendary player for one club, but was able to be a legend in two different clubs. Greaves who play in the period 1957 to 1980 was one of the greatest players of Chelsea and Tottenham Hotspur. With 366 goals throughout his career, Greaves created a record as one of England's most prolific strikers. Not only that, he also helped England win the World Cup 1966, a feat that cannot be achieved by other England top strikers such as Alan Shearer, Gary Lineker, and Michael Owen.
5. Michael Owen
Michael Owen is one of the best phenomena in England national team. This player shone at a very young age, even scored a miraculous goal in the World Cup 1998 match against Argentina when he was only 18 years old. Owen helped Liverpool claim five titles in the 2000-2001 season and twice became Premier League's top scorer. Unfortunately, his prolonged injury makes Owen' performance continued to decline and he eventually had to retire at a fairly young age.
4. Geoff Hurst
Geoff Hurst's name will always be remembered by English people because he scored a hat trick in the World Cup 1966 final match against West Germany. His hattrick helped England to be the champion of the tournament, an achievement that hasn't been able to be repeated until today. At club level, Hurst spent most of his career at West Ham United, scoring 180 goals in 411 appearances.
3. Bobby Charlton
If only Bobby Charlton's original position were a striker, I would definitely put him in the first rank of this list. Although Charlton is an attacking midfielder, he was very prolific in scoring goals. Until now, Charlton still holds the record as all-time top scorer of the English national team with 49 goals. In addition to his great contribution in helping England to be the champion of World Cup 1966, Charlton also presented three Premier League titles and a Champions Cup title to Manchester United.
2. Alan Shearer
Shearer is the best target man ever in England national team. He was very tough in the penalty box, possessed a very high shooting power, and also known a reliable set-piece taker. His scoring record is very impressive, even though he never played for a big club. With a record of 260 goals, Shearer is the Premier League's top scorer of all time. He also became three-time Premier League top scorer when he played for Blackburn Rovers and Newcastle United.
1. Gary Lineker
Over 16 years of playing as a professional footballer, Lineker had never received a single yellow card or red card. Not only that, he was also famous as a reliable goal scorer. Lineker spent much time playing outside the UK, where he played three years for Barcelona and two years for Nagoya Grampus Eight. He also became the three times English League's top scorer with three different teams: Leicester City, Everton, and Tottenham Hotspur.
