List of England national football team captains

This article lists all the captains of the England national football team.

Harry Kane, pictured here at the 2018 FIFA World Cup, has been England captain since 2018.

The first England captain was Cuthbert Ottaway; he captained England in the first ever international match, against Scotland on 30 November 1872. He went on to captain England on just one further occasion, the third international match, on 7 March 1874, against the same opposition. Alexander Morten captained England in their first international on home soil, 8 March 1873 vs Scotland, and was the first international captain to win a match. This was his only international appearance.

Since then, Billy Wright went on to set the record for most captaincies of his country, with 90. Bobby Moore, who remains the only England captain to have lifted the World Cup, reached 90 captaincies in 1973, and shares the record with Wright.

List of captains

England first post-war captain, George Hardwick.

Jimmy Armfield, pictured opening the Heys Sports Complex in Oswaldtwistle, captained England from 1962 to 1964.

Elizabeth II presents the Jules Rimet Trophy to England captain Bobby Moore, 1966.

Kevin Keegan was England's captain from 1976 to 1984; he also managed the side from 1999 to 2000.

Match of the Day host Gary Lineker was the England captain between 1990 and 1992.

Alan Shearer captained England from 1996 to 2000.

David Beckham, pictured here at the 2006 FIFA World Cup, captained England from 2000 to 2006.

John Terry had two spells of captaincy, 2006-2010 and 2011-2012

Rio Ferdinand, captained England from 2010 to 2011.

Steven Gerrard captained England through the 2010 and 2014 World Cup, and Euro 2012.

Wayne Rooney, England's top goalscorer with 53 goals, was England captain from 2014 to 2017.

Captain chronology

Tenure	Incumbent	Reserve captains[upper-alpha 1]
1933	Roy Goodall
1934	Tom Cooper
1934–1939	Eddie Hapgood	Jack Barker, George Male, Sam Barkas, Stan Cullis
1946–1948	George Hardwick	Frank Swift
1948–1959	Billy Wright	Alf Ramsey
1959–1960	Ronnie Clayton
1960–1962	Johnny Haynes	Jimmy Armfield
1962–1964	Jimmy Armfield	Bobby Moore
1964–1973	Bobby Moore	Ron Flowers, Jimmy Armfield, Bobby Charlton, Alan Mullery, Martin Peters, Colin Bell
1974	Emlyn Hughes
1975	Alan Ball
1975–1976	Gerry Francis	Kevin Keegan, Mick Channon
1976–1982	Kevin Keegan	Emlyn Hughes, Mick Mills, Phil Thompson, Trevor Cherry, Ray Clemence, Peter Shilton
1982–1991	Bryan Robson	Ray Wilkins, Peter Shilton, Terry Butcher, Peter Beardsley
1990–1992	Gary Lineker	Mark Wright, Stuart Pearce
1992–1993	Stuart Pearce	Paul Ince, David Platt
1993–1995	David Platt	Paul Ince, Tony Adams
1995–1996	Tony Adams	Alan Shearer
1996–2000	Alan Shearer	Stuart Pearce, Paul Ince, David Seaman, Tony Adams, Sol Campbell
2000	Tony Adams	Sol Campbell, Martin Keown
2000–2006	David Beckham	Michael Owen, Steven Gerrard, Danny Mills, Emile Heskey, Gareth Southgate, Phil Neville, Jamie Carragher[2]
2006–2010	John Terry	Rio Ferdinand, Steven Gerrard, David Beckham
2010–2011	Rio Ferdinand	Steven Gerrard, Frank Lampard, Gareth Barry
2011–2012	John Terry	Steven Gerrard, Frank Lampard, Scott Parker
2012–2014	Steven Gerrard	Frank Lampard, Wayne Rooney, Ashley Cole, Gareth Barry, Joleon Lescott
2014–2017	Wayne Rooney	Gary Cahill, Joe Hart, Phil Jagielka, James Milner, Chris Smalling, Jordan Henderson, Harry Kane
2017–2018	Jordan Henderson	Gary Cahill, Joe Hart, Harry Kane, Eric Dier
2018–present	Harry Kane	Jordan Henderson (vice-captain)[3] Gary Cahill, Eric Dier, Declan Rice, Raheem Sterling, Harry Maguire, Kieran Trippier, Conor Coady, Marcus Rashford

Captains by tournament

Bold indicates tournament winners
Italics indicates tournament hosts

Player	Tournament(s)	Ref.
Billy Wright	1950 FIFA World Cup 1954 FIFA World Cup 1958 FIFA World Cup	[4]
Johnny Haynes	1962 FIFA World Cup
Bobby Moore	1966 FIFA World Cup UEFA Euro 1968 1970 FIFA World Cup
Kevin Keegan	UEFA Euro 1980
Mick Mills	1982 FIFA World Cup
Bryan Robson	1986 FIFA World Cup UEFA Euro 1988 1990 FIFA World Cup
Gary Lineker	UEFA Euro 1992
Tony Adams	UEFA Euro 1996
Alan Shearer	1998 FIFA World Cup UEFA Euro 2000
David Beckham	2002 FIFA World Cup UEFA Euro 2004 2006 FIFA World Cup
Steven Gerrard	2010 FIFA World Cup UEFA Euro 2012 2014 FIFA World Cup
Wayne Rooney	UEFA Euro 2016
Harry Kane	2018 FIFA World Cup 2018–19 UEFA Nations League UEFA Euro 2020 2020–21 UEFA Nations League

Captains by appearances as captain

Figures include all recognised matches up to 6 June 2021. The default order for this list is by most appearances as captain, then chronological order of first captaincy. Only confirmed captaincies are counted.

Bold indicates appointed captain of England

#	Player	England career	Caps as captain	Total caps	First captaincy
1	Billy Wright	1946–1959	90	105	9 October 1948
1	Bobby Moore	1962–1973	90	108	29 May 1963
3	Bryan Robson	1980–1991	65	90	17 November 1982
4	David Beckham	1996–2009	59	115	15 November 2000
5	Harry Kane	2015–present	49	69	10 June 2017
6	Steven Gerrard	2000–2014	38	114	31 March 2004
7	Alan Shearer	1992–2000	34	63	1 September 1996
7	John Terry	2003–2012	34	78	16 August 2006
9	Kevin Keegan	1972–1982	31	63	24 March 1976
10	Wayne Rooney	2003–2018	23	120	14 November 2009
10	Emlyn Hughes	1969–1980	23	62	11 March 1974
12	Bob Crompton	1902–1914	22	41	2 March 1903
12	Johnny Haynes	1954–1962	22	56	15 May 1960
14	Eddie Hapgood	1933–1939	20	30	14 November 1934
15	David Platt	1989–1996	19	62	17 February 1993
16	Gary Lineker	1984–1992	18	80	12 September 1990
17	Norman Bailey	1878–1887	15	19	12 March 1881
17	Jimmy Armfield	1959–1966	15	43	28 September 1961
17	Peter Shilton	1970–1990	15	125	25 May 1982
17	Tony Adams	1987–2000	15	66	12 October 1994
21	Viv Woodward	1903–1911	14	23	15 February 1908
22	G. O. Smith	1893–1901	13	20	4 April 1896
22	George Hardwick	1946–1948	13	13	28 September 1946
24	Roy Goodall	1926–1933	12	25	31 March 1928
25	Ray Wilkins	1976–1986	10	84	22 September 1982
25	Stuart Pearce	1987–1999	10	78	8 June 1991
27	Jack Hill	1925–1929	8	11	2 April 1927
27	Gerry Francis	1974–1976	8	12	3 September 1975
27	Mick Mills	1972–1982	8	42	13 May 1978
27	Michael Owen	1998–2008	8	89	17 April 2002
27	Frank Lampard	1999–2014	8	106	9 February 2011
32	Jordan Henderson	2010–present	8	58	8 October 2016
33	George Wilson	1921–1924	7	12	22 October 1921
33	Terry Butcher	1980–1990	7	77	12 November 1986
33	Paul Ince	1992–2000	7	53	9 June 1993
33	Rio Ferdinand	1997–2011	7	81	26 March 2008
33	Eric Dier	2015–present	7	45	10 November 2017
38	George Male	1934–1939	6	19	18 November 1936
38	Alan Ball	1965–1975	6	72	12 March 1975
38	Phil Thompson	1976–1982	6	42	22 November 1979
41	Percy Walters	1885–1890	5	13	13 March 1886
41	Willis Edwards	1926–1929	5	16	22 October 1928
41	Ronnie Clayton	1955–1960	5	35	17 October 1959
41	Gary Cahill	2010–2018	5	61	9 October 2015
41	Harry Maguire	2017–present	5	32	7 September 2019
46	Tinsley Lindley	1886–1891	4	13	4 February 1888
46	Stanley Harris	1904–1906	4	6	25 February 1905
46	Sam Wadsworth	1922–1926	4	9	22 October 1924
46	David Jack	1924–1932	4	9	5 April 1930
46	Ernie Blenkinsop	1928–1933	4	26	9 December 1931
46	Thomas Cooper	1927–1934	4	15	14 April 1934
46	Martin Peters	1966–1974	4	67	19 May 1971
53	Robert Holmes	1888–1895	3	7	13 March 1893
53	Howard Spencer	1897–1905	3	6	14 February 1903
53	Arthur Grimsdell	1920–1923	3	6	9 April 1921
53	Alfred Bower[5]	1923–1927	3	5	8 December 1924
53	Billy Walker	1920–1932	3	18	21 May 1925
53	Alfred Strange	1930–1933	3	20	14 May 1931
53	Sam Barkas	1936–1937	3	18	23 October 1937
53	Alf Ramsey	1948–1953	3	32	15 November 1950
53	Ron Flowers	1955–1966	3	49	27 May 1964
53	Bobby Charlton	1958–1970	3	106	15 January 1969
53	David V. Watson	1974–1982	3	65	24 April 1981
53	Sol Campbell	1996–2007	3	73	24 May 1998
66	Cuthbert Ottaway	1872–1874	2	2	30 November 1872
66	Charles Bambridge	1879–1887	2	18	18 February 1882
66	John Goodall	1888–1898	2	14	7 February 1891
66	Arthur Dunn	1883–1892	2	4	15 March 1892
66	George Cotterill	1891–1893	2	4	25 February 1893
66	Charles Wreford-Brown	1889–1898	2 or 3[6]	4	18 March 1895
66	Jesse Pennington	1907–1920	2	25	15 March 1920
66	Charlie Buchan	1913–1924	2	6	14 March 1921
66	Basil Patchitt	1923	2	2	21 May 1923
66	Frank Swift	1946–1949	2	19	16 May 1948
66	Mick Channon	1972–1977	2	46	28 May 1976
66	Joe Hart	2008–present	2	75	13 November 2015
66	Raheem Sterling	2012–present	2	61	7 June 2019
79	Alexander Morten	1873	1	1	8 March 1873
79	C. W. Alcock	1875	1	1	6 March 1875
79	Hubert Heron	1873–1878	1	5	4 March 1876
79	William Rawson	1875–1877	1	2	3 March 1877
79	Arthur Cursham	1880–1884	1 or 2[7]	6	2 March 1878
79	Henry Wace	1878–1879	1 or 2[7]	3	5 April 1879
79	Charles Wollaston	1874–1880	1	4	13 March 1880
79	Francis Sparks	1879–1880	1	3	15 March 1880
79	Jack Hunter	1878–1882	1	7	26 February 1881
79	John Hudson	1883	1	1	24 February 1883
79	John Brodie	1889–1891	1	3	2 March 1889
79	Billy Moon	1888–1885	1	7	6 April 1891
79	R. Cunliffe Gosling	1892–1895	1 or 2[6]	5	6 April 1895
79	William Oakley	1895–1901	1	16	9 March 1901
79	Ernest Needham	1894–1902	1	16	18 March 1901
79	Reginald Foster	1900–1902	1	5	3 March 1902
79	Frank Forman	1898–1903	1	9	22 March 1902
79	Stephen Bloomer	1895–1907	1	23	3 May 1902
79	Arthur Knight	1919	1	1	25 October 1919
79	Joseph McCall	1913–1920	1	5	23 October 1920
79	Ephraim Longworth	1920–1923	1	5	21 May 1921
79	Max Woosnam	1922	1	1	13 March 1922
79	Graham Doggart	1923	1	1	1 November 1923
79	Frank Moss	1924	1	5	12 April 1924
79	Claude Ashton[8]	1925	1	1	24 October 1925
79	Tommy Lucas	1921–1926	1	3	24 May 1926
79	Fred Kean	1923–1929	1	9	21 May 1927
79	Jack Barker	1934–1936	1	11	17 October 1936
79	Stan Cullis	1937–1939	1	12	24 May 1939
79	Alan Mullery	1964–1971	1	35	3 February 1971
79	Colin Bell	1968–1975	1	48	23 May 1972
79	Trevor Cherry	1976–1980	1	27	31 May 1980
79	Ray Clemence	1972–1983	1	61	12 May 1981
79	Phil Neal	1976–1983	1	50	2 June 1982
79	Peter Beardsley	1986–1996	1	59	13 February 1988
79	Mark Wright	1984–1996	1	45	21 May 1991
79	David Seaman	1988–2003	1	75	10 September 1997
79	Martin Keown	1992–2002	1	43	11 September 2000
79	Gareth Barry	2000–2012	1	53	29 March 2011
79	Scott Parker	2003–2013	1	11	29 February 2012
79	Phil Jagielka	2008–present	1	40	12 October 2015
79	James Milner	2009–2016	1	61	29 March 2016
79	Chris Smalling	2011–present	1	31	27 May 2016
79	Fabian Delph	2014–present	1	20	15 November 2018
79	Kieran Trippier	2017–present	1	27	8 October 2020
79	Marcus Rashford	2016–present	1	41	8 October 2020

Disputed captaincies

Player	England career	Caps as captain	Total caps
Harry Daft	1889–1892	1 or 0[9]	5
Vaughan Lodge	1894–1896	0 or 1[10]	5
George Raikes	1895–1896	0 or 1[10]	4

Unofficial captaincies

The following players have never started a match as captain, but were given the armband partway through a match after that game's starting captain was either sent off or substituted:

Notes

Reserve captains are players that have taken the captain's armband on a one-off match basis when the incumbent is unavailable. Unlike unofficial captaincies the player is given the responsibility prior to the game and are officially recognised by the FA as having officially captained England, whereas unofficial captains receive the armband part way through a match due to the substitution or the receiving of a red card by the captain.[1]

References

"England's Captains - Index". Englandfootballonline.com. Retrieved 13 August 2012.
http://lebuzz.eurosport.co.uk/viral/remember-these-england-captains-parker-lescott-heskey-and-more-20342/
Hendo off the mark Englandfootball.com. Written by Tom Dean. Retrieved 8 March 2021.
http://www.englandfootballonline.com/CmpWC/CmpWCPlyrsCapt.html
Alfred Bower was the last amateur player to captain England
Sources differ concerning the captaincy for England vs Wales, 12 March 1894. It was either Charles Wreford-Brown or Cunliffe Gosling
Sources differ concerning the captaincy for England vs Wales, 18 January 1879. It was either Arthur Cursham or Henry Wace
Claude Ashton was the last player to be appointed captain for his solitary England appearance
Ireland 0 - England 2; 5 March 1892 (Match summary)
The captaincy for England vs Ireland, 7 March 1896 is disputed between G. O. Smith (13 confirmed captaincies), and George Raikes and Vaughan Lodge, neither of whom had captained England in another match.
"Clockwatch: England 4-0 Mexico". BBC Sport. 25 May 2001. Retrieved 28 June 2015.
"England Match No. 787 - Italy - 27 March 2002 - Match Summary and Report". Englandfootballonline.com. Retrieved 13 August 2012.
"England Match No. 799 - Australia - 12 February 2003 - Match Summary and Report". Englandfootballonline.com. Retrieved 13 August 2012.
"England Match No. 803 - Serbia & Montenegro - 3 June 2003 - Match Summary and Report". Englandfootballonline.com. Retrieved 13 August 2012.
"England Match No. 827 - USA - 28 May 2005 - Match Summary and Report". Englandfootballonline.com. Retrieved 13 August 2012.
"England Match No. 842 - Portugal - 1 July 2006 - Match Summary and Report". Englandfootballonline.com. Retrieved 13 August 2012.
"England Match No. 904 - Norway - 26 May 2012 - Match Summary and Report". Englandfootballonline.com. Retrieved 18 June 2014.
"England Match No. 910 - Italy - 15 August 2012 - Match Summary and Report". Englandfootballonline.com. Retrieved 18 June 2014.

External links

England football captains database

This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.

[2] Reserve captains are players that have taken the captain's armband on a one-off match basis when the incumbent is unavailable. Unlike unofficial captaincies the player is given the responsibility prior to the game and are officially recognised by the FA as having officially captained England, whereas unofficial captains receive the armband part way through a match due to the substitution or the receiving of a red card by the captain.[1]

[Captains-1] "England's Captains - Index". Englandfootballonline.com. Retrieved 13 August 2012.

[3] ttp://lebuzz.eurosport.co.uk/viral/remember-these-england-captains-parker-lescott-heskey-and-more-20342/

[4] Hendo off the mark Englandfootball.com. Written by Tom Dean. Retrieved 8 March 2021.

[5] ttp://www.englandfootballonline.com/CmpWC/CmpWCPlyrsCapt.html

[6] Alfred Bower was the last amateur player to captain England

[WBG-7] Sources differ concerning the captaincy for England vs Wales, 12 March 1894. It was either Charles Wreford-Brown or Cunliffe Gosling

[CW-8] Sources differ concerning the captaincy for England vs Wales, 18 January 1879. It was either Arthur Cursham or Henry Wace

[9] Claude Ashton was the last player to be appointed captain for his solitary England appearance

[10] Ireland 0 - England 2; 5 March 1892 (Match summary)

[SML-11] The captaincy for England vs Ireland, 7 March 1896 is disputed between G. O. Smith (13 confirmed captaincies), and George Raikes and Vaughan Lodge, neither of whom had captained England in another match.

[12] "Clockwatch: England 4-0 Mexico". BBC Sport. 25 May 2001. Retrieved 28 June 2015.

[13] "England Match No. 787 - Italy - 27 March 2002 - Match Summary and Report". Englandfootballonline.com. Retrieved 13 August 2012.

[14] "England Match No. 799 - Australia - 12 February 2003 - Match Summary and Report". Englandfootballonline.com. Retrieved 13 August 2012.

[England_National_Football_Team_Match_No._803-15] "England Match No. 803 - Serbia & Montenegro - 3 June 2003 - Match Summary and Report". Englandfootballonline.com. Retrieved 13 August 2012.

[16] "England Match No. 827 - USA - 28 May 2005 - Match Summary and Report". Englandfootballonline.com. Retrieved 13 August 2012.

[17] "England Match No. 842 - Portugal - 1 July 2006 - Match Summary and Report". Englandfootballonline.com. Retrieved 13 August 2012.

[18] "England Match No. 904 - Norway - 26 May 2012 - Match Summary and Report". Englandfootballonline.com. Retrieved 18 June 2014.

[19] "England Match No. 910 - Italy - 15 August 2012 - Match Summary and Report". Englandfootballonline.com. Retrieved 18 June 2014.