Three players currently sit joint-top of the list for World Cup and European Championship finals appearances for the Three Lions
(Image credit: Alamy)
Records are made to be broken, and three England players look likely to smash the current record for most appearances made by a male player at a major tournament finals when they head out to Euro 2024 this summer.
Gareth Southgate has omitted a few notable former regulars from his England squad for this year’s Euro 2024 journey to Germany, but there are still several members in his side who will be going to a fifth straight summer tournament with him (notwithstanding a rather stretchy interpretation of the word ‘summer’).
Here’s the current list of all-time top England men’s representatives at major finals based on the number of appearances they have made for the Three Lions on the big stage.
Ranked! England players with most major tournament appearances
19 appearances
Pickford has is an England tournament stalwart (Image credit: Getty Images)
Two players here are very likely to rise higher this summer, possibly even up to number two of all time…but probably not number one. We’ll get to that later.
Those two players are Jordan Pickford and John Stones, who have been near-immovable throughout Southgate’s time in charge. They are also the only players on this list two have played in as few as three major tournaments to date (the 2018 and 2022 World Cups, plus Euro 2020).
Michael Owen rounds out the quartet of players on 19 appearances, with his explosive 1998 World Cup campaign followed by another two global outings and two Euros.
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20 appearances
Beckham was an important England figure (Image credit: Getty Images)
Unsurprisingly, England’s all-time most-capped male player Peter Shilton ranks highly, going to three World Cups from 1982 to 1990 and the Euros in 1980 (though Ray Clemence was preferred for two of England’s three games) and 1988. England failed to qualify in 1984.
David Beckham earned his first cap just too late to be involved at Euro 96, but was involved in three World Cups from 1998 to 2006 and the two Euros in between - the exact same as Owen. The midfielder was infamously sent off in the second round of his debut tournament but atoned by scoring the goal that qualified them for the 2002 edition.
21 appearances
Rooney broke through at Euro 2004 (Image credit: Getty Images)
Two Scousers share the second level with the joint fourth-most finals appearances for England: Steven Gerrard and Wayne Rooney.
The former Liverpool skipper got started at Euro 2000 but missed the 2002 World Cup through injury before going uninterrupted thereafter, with his last appearances coming in Roy Hodgson’s disastrous 2014 World Cup group stage exit.
Rooney exploded to international prominence at Euro 2004 and went to every tournament until Euro 2016.
Both players would have had a strong shout of setting the record if England had qualified for Euro 2008.
22 appearances
Sterling won't add to his appearances this summer (Image credit: Getty Images)
Ashley Cole was the first player to reach 22 England appearances at major tournaments, with 14 World Cup outings from 2002-2010 (putting him joint second behind Shilton and alongside Moore, Bobby Charlton and Butcher) and eight at the Euros in 2004 and 2012.
Raheem Sterling joined the left-back on 22 by making three appearances at the 2022 World Cup, but will not add to that tally this summer after being left out of Gareth Southgate’s squad – the first time he’s missed a major tournament finals for England since going to the 2014 World Cup.
However, bar some unforeseen turn of events Harry Kane will set a new record at Euro 2024. Kane has only been to four tournaments, one fewer than either Cole or Sterling, but has benefited from (and been a major contributor to) England’s improved ability to make it to the latter stages of tournaments.
Kane’s 22 finals appearances are currently evenly-split between the World Cup and the Euros since Euro 2016, with the forward scoring 12 times – the most of any England player in history.
Steven Chicken has been working as a football writer since 2009, taking in stints with Football365 and the Huddersfield Examiner. Steven still covers Huddersfield Town home and away for his own publication, WeAreTerriers.com. Steven is a two-time nominee for Regional Journalist of the Year at the prestigious British Sports Journalism Awards, making the shortlist in 2020 and 2023.
