15 Greatest British Strikers in Football History [Ranked]

Summary

• England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland have all produced attacking greats.

• Welsh hero Ian Rush makes the list for his iconic Liverpool spells.

• Harry Kane, Wayne Rooney and Ian Wright all feature in the top 11.

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 15 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

15 Mark Hughes

Nationality: Welsh

Mark Hughes wasn't an out-and-out goalscorer but his all-round play had him regarded as one of the best forwards in Europe at his peak. His exploits for Manchester United in the original first division earned moves to Barcelona and Bayern Munich, and while they proved to be less successful, the Welshman would win the PFA Players' Player of the Year award twice upon his return to Old Trafford, as well as finishing 9th in the 1991 Ballon d'Or.

Hughes was still an important part of the United squad when they won back-to-back titles at the beginning of the Premier League era. He then joined Chelsea and helped establish their reputation as a cup-winning team, winning the FA Cup, League Cup and Cup Winners' Cup while serving as Gianfranco Zola's strike partner. Underwhelming spells with Southampton and Everton lead to a brief renaissance at Blackburn Rovers, who Hughes would later manage, by helping fire them to promotion back to the Premier League, followed by an unlikely League Cup.

Hughes also made 72 appearances for his country, scoring 16 goals.

14 Dixie Dean

Nationality: English

Dixie Dean's goalscoring exploits for Everton were so notorious that an Italian solider in World War 2 is alleged to have declared "F*** your Churchill and F*** your Dixie Dean" upon being captured by the British. Ironically, the outbreak of war ended Dean's playing career as league football was suspended, although he was playing in the Cheshire County League at the time with his best years behind him.

Dean's peak came at Everton, where he scored 383 goals in 433 games across all competitions, incredibly firing the Toffees to the second division and first division titles in subsequent seasons, followed by an FA Cup the year after. He remains Everton's all time top goalscorer and the English top flight's record scorer of goals for a single club.

Dean's international career only lasted five years, but in that time he scored 18 goals in 16 games.

13 Jimmy McGrory

Nationality: Scottish

Jimmy McGrory's scoring record was nothing short of remarkable, finishing his career with 539 goals in 534 appearances, and his trophy cabinet wasn't bad either. The Hoops legend fired his side to the first division title on three occasions, while also winning six Scottish Cups. Despite measuring at just 5 foot 6, McGrory is said to have been remarkable at heading the ball, having developed a trademark bullet header. This earned him the nicknames of 'The Human Torpedo' and 'The Mermaid'.

Although McGrory was an incredibly successful striker at club level - so successful that Arsenal tried and failed to sign him for a record transfer fee in 1927 - he was often overlooked for the Scottish national team and only ever made six appearances for them, scoring seven goals.

He remains the all-time record goalscorer in British top flight football and Celtic's all-time record goalscorer. He also famously netted eight goals in one game, taking his tally for the 1927/28 season to an astonishing 62 from 46.

12 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.

11 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.

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10 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.

9 Kevin Keegan

Nationality: English

The only British player 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.

8 Michael Owen

Nationality: English

Michael Owen's meteoric rise as a youngster saw him named as the greatest player in th eworld at the age of only 23 years old, when he picked up the Ballon d'Or. 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.

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7 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.

6 Wayne Rooney

Nationality: English

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.

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.

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4 Jimmy Greaves

Nationality: English

A 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.

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3 Ian Rush

Nationality: Welsh

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

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 Denis Law

Nationality: Scottish

Denis Law's achievements speak for themselves. One of very few British winners of the Ballon d'Or, he was without doubt one of the best strikers of his era, scoring goals for fun throughout the 1960s. He helped Manchester United to the first European Cup in their history, albeit missing the 1968 final due to injury, and the following season finished up as the competition's top scorer. Law also won the first division title twice at Old Trafford, in addition to an FA Cup.

Following retirement, Law's impact on the game continued to be recognised. He was inducted into both the English Football and Scottish Football Halls of Fame, named in the PFA Team of the Century, and crowned as Scotland's Most Outstanding Player of the last 50 years.