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  1. Features

18 England strikers who played little – but scored a lot

By Greg Lea published 9 October 2017

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18. Terry Paine – 19 caps, 7 goals (0.37 per game)

18. Terry Paine – 19 caps, 7 goals (0.37 per game)

Nobody has played more games for Southampton than Paine, who turned out 808 times for the south coast side between 1956 and 1974. The winger scored 21 league goals for Saints in 1963/64 to earn his first England call-up; he didn't score on his debut against Czechoslovakia but did hit a hat-trick in a victory over Northern Ireland a few months later, and ended his international career with seven goals in 19 outings.

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Page 1 of 18
16= Bob Latchford - 12 caps, 5 goals (0.42 per game)

16= Bob Latchford - 12 caps, 5 goals (0.42 per game)

A centre-forward who was capable of scoring every type of goal, Latchford won surprisingly few England caps during his career. The former Birmingham and Everton man was prolific at club level and successfully transferred his sharp-shooting to the international stage, netting five times in 12 appearances for his country.

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Page 2 of 18
16= Wilf Mannion – 26 caps, 11 goals (0.42 per game)

16= Wilf Mannion – 26 caps, 11 goals (0.42 per game)

An inside forward who scored 99 league goals for Middlesbrough, Mannion was part of the England team embarrassed by the United States at the 1950 World Cup. He won 26 caps and scored 11 goals in total, including a hat-trick against Ireland and a brace against Wales in the 1946/47 Home Championship.

Page 3 of 18
Page 3 of 18
15. Malcolm Macdonald - 14 caps, 6 goals (0.43 per game)

15. Malcolm Macdonald - 14 caps, 6 goals (0.43 per game)

A clinical frontman who averaged more than a goal a game for Luton, Newcastle and Arsenal, Macdonald fell just short of that rate for the Three Lions. Six in 14 is a respectable return, though, with all his international strikes curiously coming in 1975.

Page 4 of 18
Page 4 of 18
13= Jimmy Mullen – 12 caps, 6 goals (0.5 per game)

13= Jimmy Mullen – 12 caps, 6 goals (0.5 per game)

Mullen, a one-club man who won three First Division championships and an FA Cup with Wolves, represented England in two World Cups yet only amassed 12 caps for the national team. The outside left did manage to find the net on six occasions, however, including against Belgium on his debut in 1950, when he became England's first ever substitute.

Page 5 of 18
Page 5 of 18
13= Harry Kane – 23 caps, 12 goals (0.52 per game)

13= Harry Kane – 23 caps, 12 goals (0.52 per game)

Kane's second winner in a week, this time against Lithuania on Sunday, took his England goal tally to 12. The Tottenham striker has won the Premier League Golden Boot in the last two seasons and will now be targeting success in Russia next summer, when he has a second chance to score in an international tournament for the first time.

Page 6 of 18
Page 6 of 18
12. Allan Clarke - 19 caps, 10 goals (0.53 per game)

12. Allan Clarke - 19 caps, 10 goals (0.53 per game)

An uncapped Clarke was a surprise inclusion in England's squad for the 1970 World Cup in Mexico, where he scored on his debut against Czechoslovakia (he remains the last Three Lions player to make his international bow at a World Cup). The 6ft striker scored nine more goals for his country, including a penalty in the 1-1 draw with Poland that knocked England out of qualification for West Germany '74.

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Page 7 of 18
11. Martin Chivers - 24 caps, 13 goals (0.54 per game)

11. Martin Chivers - 24 caps, 13 goals (0.54 per game)

Chivers was handed his England debut in February 1971, but none of his 24 games for the national team came at a tournament – the Three Lions failed to reach Euro '72 and World Cup '74. Nevertheless, the former Southampton and Tottenham forward scored 13 goals for England, one of which came in his first start at Wembley against Greece.

Page 8 of 18
Page 8 of 18
9= Ivor Broadis – 14 caps, 8 goals (0.57 per game)

9= Ivor Broadis – 14 caps, 8 goals (0.57 per game)

Broadis played no part in England's seminal 6-3 thrashing by Hungary in 1953, but it was he who hit the consolation in the 7-1 loss in Budapest a few months later. Only two of his eight goals came in victories, although braces in draws with Scotland and Belgium were essential to England avoiding defeat.

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Page 9 of 18
9= Derek Kevan – 14 caps, 8 goals (0.57 per game)

9= Derek Kevan – 14 caps, 8 goals (0.57 per game)

Kevan was responsible for half of England's goals at the 1958 World Cup, scoring one against both Austria and the Soviet Union as Walter Winterbottom's side crashed out in the group stage. Despite the team's shortcomings, the then-West Brom frontman justified the squad selectors' decision to give him the nod ahead of one Brian Clough.

Page 10 of 18
Page 10 of 18
8. Johnny Byrne - 11 caps, 8 goals (0.73 per game)

8. Johnny Byrne - 11 caps, 8 goals (0.73 per game)

Byrne is one of only five post-war players to have earned an England call-up while playing outside the top two divisions (the others being Steve Bull, Reg Matthews, Peter Taylor and Tommy Lawton). Not many can match his goals-per-game ratio either, although the ex-Fulham, Crystal Palace and West Ham striker would probably have settled for a slightly lower scoring rate if it meant more appearances for the national side.

Page 11 of 18
Page 11 of 18
7. Roy Bentley – 12 caps, 9 goals (0.75 per game)

7. Roy Bentley – 12 caps, 9 goals (0.75 per game)

Bentley was referred to north of the border as "the man who robbed Scotland of Rio", after inspiring a defeat of the Tartan Army which meant they missed out on qualification for the 1950 World Cup in Brazil. The Chelsea legend netted nine times in his 12 matches for the Three Lions.

Page 12 of 18
Page 12 of 18
6. Jackie Milburn - 13 caps, 10 goals (0.77 per game)

6. Jackie Milburn - 13 caps, 10 goals (0.77 per game)

Alan Shearer may have more goals to his name in all competitions, but no player has scored more times for Newcastle in the league than Milburn. The striker found the net in four of his first five England games, a run which featured a treble in a 4-1 triumph over Wales in 1949.

Page 13 of 18
Page 13 of 18
5. Dennis Wilshaw - 12 caps, 10 goals (0.83 per game)

5. Dennis Wilshaw - 12 caps, 10 goals (0.83 per game)

A versatile attacker who could play anywhere across the forward line, Wilshaw's 10 England goals came in just five games: braces against Wales in 1953 and Northern Ireland in 1955, four against Scotland in the latter year, and further strikes against Switzerland and Finland.

Page 14 of 18
Page 14 of 18
4. Tommy Taylor - 19 caps, 16 goals (0.84 per game)

4. Tommy Taylor - 19 caps, 16 goals (0.84 per game)

The reason Taylor didn't win more England caps is a tragic one: he was one of the victims of the Munich air disaster in February 1958. Before that, the Manchester United marksman scored 16 goals in 19 games for his country, the most noteworthy being a double in a 4-2 win against future world champions Brazil in 1956.

Page 15 of 18
Page 15 of 18
3. Bobby Smith - 15 caps, 13 goals (0.87 per game)

3. Bobby Smith - 15 caps, 13 goals (0.87 per game)

Smith hit the ground running after earning a spot in the England setup at the start of the 1960s, scoring eight times in his five matches for the senior side. He was unable to maintain such a high rate over the next three years, but still ended his international career with a brilliant return of 13 goals in 15 caps.

Page 16 of 18
Page 16 of 18
2. Nat Lofthouse - 33 caps, 30 goals (0.91 per game)

2. Nat Lofthouse - 33 caps, 30 goals (0.91 per game)

The Bolton talisman was an archetypal English centre-forward and he certainly knew where the net was, scoring 30 times in his 33 appearances for the Three Lions. His goals tended to come in pairs; Lofthouse grabbed braces against Yugoslavia, Ireland, Austria, Switzerland, Wales (twice), Belgium (twice), the United States, Scotland, Denmark and Finland. Lethal.

Page 17 of 18
Page 17 of 18
1. Stan Mortensen - 25 caps, 23 goals (0.92 per game)

1. Stan Mortensen - 25 caps, 23 goals (0.92 per game)

Poor Mortensen became the first (and only) player to score a hat-trick in a Wembley FA Cup final in 1953, only to see the game named after Blackpool team-mate Stanley Matthews. Not even the legendary winger could match his goals-per-game ratio for England, though: the 25-time international scored 23 times for his country, including four on his debut against Portugal.

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Page 18 of 18
Greg Lea
Greg Lea
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Greg Lea is a freelance football journalist who's filled in wherever FourFourTwo needs him since 2014. He became a Crystal Palace fan after watching a 1-0 loss to Port Vale in 1998, and once got on the scoresheet in a primary school game against Wilfried Zaha's Whitehorse Manor (an own goal in an 8-0 defeat).

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