11 Greatest British Strikers in Football History [Ranked]

British strikers have been giving defenders nightmares all over the world for generations. Some have reached what many consider as the pinnacle of football, having played for the two giants of Spanish football, Real Madrid and Barcelona, with others having won Ballon d’Ors.

Britain has produced a long range of striker styles across the years, with a few generations of the English national team setup attaining so many top strikers that some were unable to get the playing time their ability deserved. From England legends Harry Kane and Alan Shearer to Welsh hero Ian Rush, here are the top 11 British strikers of all time based on the below factors.

Ranking factors

• International achievements (honours, appearances, goals, assists, etc)
• Club achievements (honours, appearances, goals, assists, etc)
• Individual awards
• Legacy within football

11 Ian Wright

Nationality: English

Now notoriously known for his immaculate energy and analysis as a pundit, Ian Wright had quite a unique story on his way to glory in his career, as despite early troubles with academies, he managed to sign his first professional contract with Crystal Palace just shy of his 22nd birthday. Scoring goals for fun with the Eagles, Wright would join Arsenal in 1991, where he would go on to become a lethal striker and an icon for the club, winning a Premier League, two FA Cups, a League Cup and a Cup Winners’ Cup.

Unfortunately for Wright, he was never quite in favour for England despite being in great form at the time, which meant his record for country was never quite what it could have been.

10 Geoff Hurst

Nationality: English

Until 2018, Geoff Hurst was the only player to have scored a World Cup final hat-trick when he did so for England against West Germany at Wembley in 1966. Hurst was a moments player, scoring goals on the grandest of occasions. Two years before his World Cup final heroics, Hurst netted a crucial equaliser against Preston in the FA Cup final as West Ham went on to win the trophy and qualify for the European Cup Winners’ Cup.

In total, Geoff Hurst scored 248 goals for the Hammers, winning three trophies before moving to Stoke for four campaigns. For the Three Lions, Hurst would make 49 appearances, netting 24 goals, but will always be remembered for that famous day on July 30th, 1966.

9 Gary Lineker

Nationality: English

One of the best finishers of his generation, Gary Lineker was born to be a goalscorer, and not like the strikers of the modern generation that drop deep and connect in build-up play, but an out-and-out predator in the box who was only interested in scoring goals.

Playing this way, Lineker was not one to often assist his teammates, but didn’t need to worry about that; he would play for Leicester City, Everton, Barcelona, Tottenham Hotpsur, and Nagoya Grampus, spending the majority of his career playing for his hometown club, Leicester. In England colours, Lineker was, as usual, prolific, scoring more than a goal every two games, amounting to the fourth-highest tally in the nations history.

8 Kevin Keegan

Nationality: English

The only player on this list to have lifted the Ballon d’Or on more than one occasion, Kevin Keegan is one of the greatest talents that England has ever produced, as he was much more than just a striker that could score goals but also had an incredible eye for a pass and dribbling abilities.

Winning the European Champion Clubs Cup, three first-division titles, two UEFA Cups, three Super Cups and an FA Cup at Liverpool, he became a legend for ‘the Reds,’ and the season after he left, Keegan would then win the Bundesliga title with Hamburger SV. At international level things never kicked off quite as much as they did domestically for the forward, averaging a record of a goal every three games for country.

7 Michael Owen

Nationality: English

The only other player on this list other than Keegan to win the Ballon d’Or, Michael Owen’s meteoric rise as a youngster saw him become the winner of the greatest player in the world at the age of only 23 years old. Playing for Liverpool at the time, Owen won a treble of trophies, including the UEFA Cup, UEFA Super Cup, and the FA Cup, where he crucially scored two late goals against Arsenal to overturn a 1-0 deficit and win the cup.

In 2011, Owen won his first Premier League title at Manchester United. He finished top scorer in the division on two occasions, scoring 18 league goals in back-to-back seasons, in 1997/98 and 1998/99. At international level, Owen is best known for his goal against Argentina in the 1998 World Cup, rated as one of the greatest goals ever scored in an England jersey. His record for country is also very good, almost averaging a goal every two games.

6 Alan Shearer

Nationality: English

Top goalscorer in Premier League history says enough about the goalscoring excellence of Alan Shearer, as the England forward was one of the most prolific strikers ever seen in English football history, but also an underrated team player, assisting 93 goals during his career. Spending the majority of his career at his boyhood club, Newcastle United, after moving from Blackburn Rovers, where he’d won the Premier League title, Shearer did not have the service of some of his compatriots during his time but was ruthlessly efficient with the chances he did get.

Crowned as the top scorer of Euro 1996, and in three Premier League seasons, he would also pick up the English Footballer of the Year award in 1994, and for country, recorded a contribution roughly every game and a half.

5 Harry Kane

Nationality: English

Marking 100 England caps in September 2024, Harry Kane has cemented himself as a legend amongst strikers for ‘the Three Lions’. Playing in a different mould to other strikers on this list, Kane has many facets to his game. Being able to drop deep and pick out teammates with his unbelievable passing range and arrive in the box at the perfect time to get on the end of chances, he serves many purposes for his team.

Finishing as top goalscorer across three Premier League seasons for Tottenham Hotspur, in Euro 2024 and World Cup 2018 for England, and in the Champions League and Bundesliga for Bayern Munich last season, winning the European Golden Boot, Kane has proven himself as an elite goalscorer at every level of the sport. For England, he is currently the all-time top goalscorer, having scored 13 more than second-placed Wayne Rooney.

4 Jimmy Greaves

Nationality: English

Another Tottenham legend who also had major success at international level is Jimmy Greaves, who was a part of the England team that won the only World Cup in the nation’s history in 1966. For both club and country, Greaves was a lethal goalscorer, helping Spurs to lift two FA Cups, three Super Cups, and a UEFA Cup Winners’ Cup, finishing as the top scorer in the English First Division on six separate occasions, including a season where he scored 41 goals in a single campaign in 1960/61. He also attains one of the best goals-to-game ratios for England in history, averaging a goal roughly every 117 minutes of football.

3 Ian Rush

Nationality: Welsh

Being the first player on this list not of English heritage, Ian Rush became one of the most feared strikers in Europe and an iconic name in Liverpool’s history, winning two European Champion Clubs Cups, five English First Division titles, three FA Cups, five League Cups, and four Super Cups in his time with ‘the Reds’. In the 1983/84 campaign, Liverpool were crowned champions of Europe and the domestic league, where Rush earned himself both the European and First Division Golden Boot, as well as being voted the PFA Player of the Year. In international colours, the Welshman still scored goals at an impressive rate. However, due to the drop in quality he was playing alongside at club level, it was only natural the numbers would diminish slightly.

2 Kenny Dalglish

Nationality: Scotland

Another iconic Liverpool player to feature on this list is the great Scottish striker, Kenny Dalglish, who is the second most decorated footballer in British history behind Ryan Giggs.

Winning a staggering amount of trophies, including nine for Celtic and 25 for ‘the Reds,’ with the major trophies being three European Champion Club Cups, eight First Division titles, four League Cups, and two FA Cups. In 1985, Dalglish would become player-manager of Liverpool following the resignation of Joe Fagan and kept that role at the club until 1991. For Scotland, Dalglish had a record of roughly a goal every three games, but likewise to Rush, he was playing with a lower talent pool than at club level.

1 Wayne Rooney

Nationality: English

Topping this list for his contributions for both club and country, Wayne Rooney enjoyed a career full of goals and accolades, as he was not your average striker who played advanced but also possessed the capabilities to drop deeper in the pitch with an outrageous passing and shooting range. Breaking into Everton’s first team at 16 years old, Rooney got himself a move to Manchester United at 18, winning a Champions League, a Europa League, five Premier League titles, four League Cups, and an FA Cup, while also winning the club Player of the Year on four occasions.

For England, Rooney holds a record of more than a goal contribution every two games and captained the side for three years between 2014 and 2017.

All statistics according to transfermarkt. Accurate as of 15.09.24