List of England national football team captains

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

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

Figures include all recognised matches up to 24 June 2014. The default order for this list is by most appearances as captain, then chronological order of first captaincy. Only confirmed captaincies are counted.

#	Player	England career	Caps as captain	Total caps	First captaincy
1	Wright, BillyBilly Wright	1946–1959	90	105	1948-10-09
1	Moore, BobbyBobby Moore	1962–1973	90	108	1963-05-29
3	Robson, BryanBryan Robson	1980–1991	65	90	1982-11-17
4	Beckham, DavidDavid Beckham	1996–2009	59	115	2000-11-15
5	Gerrard, StevenSteven Gerrard	2000–2014	40	114	2004-03-31
6	Shearer, AlanAlan Shearer	1992–2000	34	63	1996-09-01
6	Terry, JohnJohn Terry	2003–2012	34	72	2006-08-16
8	Keegan, KevinKevin Keegan	1972–1982	31	63	1976-03-24
9	Hughes, EmlynEmlyn Hughes	1969–1980	23	62	1974-03-11
10	Crompton, BobBob Crompton	1902–1914	22	41	1903-03-02
10	Haynes, JohnnyJohnny Haynes	1954–1962	22	56	1960-05-15
12	Hapgood, EddieEddie Hapgood	1933–1939	20	30	1934-11-14
13	Platt, DavidDavid Platt	1989–1996	19	62	1993-02-17
14	Lineker, GaryGary Lineker	1984–1992	18	80	1990-09-12
15	Bailey, NormanNorman Bailey	1878–1887	15	19	1881-03-12
15	Armfield, JimmyJimmy Armfield	1959–1966	15	43	1961-09-28
15	Shilton, PeterPeter Shilton	1970–1990	15	125	1982-05-25
15	Adams, TonyTony Adams	1987–2000	15	66	1994-10-12
19	Woodward, VivViv Woodward	1903–1911	14	23	1908-02-15
20	Smith, G. O.G. O. Smith	1893–1901	13	20	1896-04-04
20	Hardwick, GeorgeGeorge Hardwick	1946–1948	13	13	1946-09-28
22	Goodall, RoyRoy Goodall	1926–1933	12	25	1928-03-31
23	Wilkins, RayRay Wilkins	1976–1986	10	84	1982-09-22
23	Pearce, StuartStuart Pearce	1987–1999	10	78	1991-06-08
25	Owen, MichaelMichael Owen	1998–2008	9	89	2002-04-17
26	Hill, JackJack Hill	1925–1929	8	11	1927-04-02
26	Mills, MickMick Mills	1972–1982	8	42	1978-05-13
26	Francis, GerryGerry Francis	1974-1976	8	12	1975-09-03
29	Wilson, GeorgeGeorge Wilson	1921–1924	7	12	1921-10-22
29	Butcher, TerryTerry Butcher	1980–1990	7	77	1986-11-12
29	Ince, PaulPaul Ince	1992–2000	7	53	1993-06-09
29	Ferdinand, RioRio Ferdinand	1997–2011	7	81	2008-03-26
33	Male, GeorgeGeorge Male	1934–1939	6	19	1936-11-18
33	Ball, AlanAlan Ball	1965–1975	6	72	1975-03-12
33	Thompson, PhilPhil Thompson	1976–1982	6	42	1979-11-22
36	Walters, PercyPercy Walters	1885–1890	5	13	1886-03-13
36	Edwards, WillisWillis Edwards	1926–1929	5	16	1928-10-22
36	Clayton, RonnieRonnie Clayton	1955–1960	5	35	1959-10-17
39	Lindley, TinsleyTinsley Lindley	1886–1891	4	13	1888-02-04
39	Harris, StanleyStanley Harris	1904–1906	4	6	1905-02-25
39	Wadsworth, SamSam Wadsworth	1922–1926	4	9	1924-10-22
39	Jack, DavidDavid Jack	1924–1932	4	9	1930-04-05
39	Blenkinsop, ErnieErnie Blenkinsop	1928–1933	4	26	1931-12-09
39	Cooper, ThomasThomas Cooper	1927–1934	4	15	1934-04-14
39	Peters, MartinMartin Peters	1966–1974	4	67	1971-05-19
45	Holmes, RobertRobert Holmes	1888–1895	3	7	1893-03-13
45	Spencer, HowardHoward Spencer	1897–1905	3	6	1903-02-14
45	Grimsdell, ArthurArthur Grimsdell	1920–1923	3	6	1921-04-09
45	Bower, AlfredAlfred Bower[1]	1923–1927	3	5	1924-12-08
45	Walker, BillyBilly Walker	1920–1932	3	18	1925-05-21
45	Strange, AlfredAlfred Strange	1930–1933	3	20	1931-05-14
45	Barkas, SamSam Barkas	1936–1937	3	18	1937-10-23
45	Ramsey, AlfAlf Ramsey	1948–1953	3	32	1950-11-15
45	Flowers, RonRon Flowers	1955–1966	3	49	1964-05-27
45	Charlton, BobbyBobby Charlton	1958–1970	3	106	1969-01-15
45	Watson, David V.David V. Watson	1974–1982	3	65	1981-04-24
45	Campbell, SolSol Campbell	1996–2007	3	70	1998-05-24
45	Lampard, FrankFrank Lampard	1999–2014	3	103	2011-02-09
57	Ottaway, CuthbertCuthbert Ottaway	1872–1874	2	2	1872-11-30
57	Bambridge, CharlesCharles Bambridge	1879–1887	2	18	1882-02-18
57	Goodall, JohnJohn Goodall	1888–1898	2	14	1891-03-07
57	Dunn, ArthurArthur Dunn	1883–1892	2	4	1892-03-15
57	Cotterill, GeorgeGeorge Cotterill	1891–1893	2	4	1893-02-25
57	Wreford-Brown, CharlesCharles Wreford-Brown	1889–1898	2 or 3[2]	4	1895-03-18
57	Pennington, JesseJesse Pennington	1907–1920	2	25	1920-03-15
57	Buchan, CharlieCharlie Buchan	1913–1924	2	6	1921-03-14
57	Patchitt, BasilBasil Patchitt	1923	2	2	1923-05-21
57	Swift, FrankFrank Swift	1946–1949	2	19	1948-05-16
57	Channon, MickMick Channon	1972–1977	2	46	1976-05-28
23	Rooney, WayneWayne Rooney	2003–present	10	103	2009-11-14
69	Morten, AlexanderAlexander Morten	1873	1	1	1873-03-08
69	Alcock, C. W.C. W. Alcock	1875	1	1	1875-03-06
69	Heron, HubertHubert Heron	1873–1878	1	5	1876-03-04
69	Rawson, WilliamWilliam Rawson	1875–1877	1	2	1877-03-03
69	Cursham, ArthurArthur Cursham	1880–1884	1 or 2[3]	6	1878-03-02
69	Wace, HenryHenry Wace	1878–1879	1 or 2[3]	3	1879-04-05
69	Wollaston, CharlesCharles Wollaston	1874–1880	1	4	1880-03-13
69	Sparks, FrancisFrancis Sparks	1879–1880	1	3	1880-03-15
69	Hunter, JackJack Hunter	1878–1882	1	7	1881-02-26
69	Hudson, JohnJohn Hudson	1883	1	1	1883-02-24
69	Brodie, JohnJohn Brodie	1889–1891	1	3	1889-03-02
69	Moon, BillyBilly Moon	1888-1885	1	7	1891-04-06
69	Gosling, R. CunliffeR. Cunliffe Gosling	1892–1895	1 or 2[2]	5	1895-04-06
69	Oakley, WilliamWilliam Oakley	1895–1901	1	16	1901-03-09
69	Needham, ErnestErnest Needham	1894–1902	1	16	1901-03-18
69	Foster, ReginaldReginald Foster	1900–1902	1	5	1902-03-03
69	Forman, FrankFrank Forman	1898–1903	1	9	1902-03-22
69	Bloomer, StephenStephen Bloomer	1895–1907	1	23	1902-05-03
69	Knight, ArthurArthur Knight	1919	1	1	1919-10-25
69	McCall, JosephJoseph McCall	1913–1920	1	5	1920-10-23
69	Longworth, EphraimEphraim Longworth	1920–1923	1	5	1921-05-21
69	Woosnam, MaxMax Woosnam	1922	1	1	1922-03-13
69	Doggart, GrahamGraham Doggart	1923	1	1	1923-11-01
69	Moss, FrankFrank Moss	1924	1	5	1924-04-12
69	Ashton, ClaudeClaude Ashton[4]	1925	1	1	1925-10-24
69	Lucas, TommyTommy Lucas	1921–1926	1	3	1926-05-24
69	Kean, FredFred Kean	1923–1929	1	9	1927-05-21
69	Barker, JackJack Barker	1934–1936	1	11	1936-10-17
69	Cullis, StanStan Cullis	1937–1939	1	12	1939-05-24
69	Mullery, AlanAlan Mullery	1964–1971	1	35	1971-02-03
69	Bell, ColinColin Bell	1968–1975	1	48	1972-05-23
69	Cherry, TrevorTrevor Cherry	1976–1980	1	27	1980-05-31
69	Clemence, RayRay Clemence	1972–1983	1	61	1981-05-12
69	Neal, PhilPhil Neal	1976–1983	1	50	1982-06-02
69	Beardsley, PeterPeter Beardsley	1986–1996	1	59	1988-02-13
69	Wright, MarkMark Wright	1984–1996	1	43	1991-05-21
69	Seaman, DavidDavid Seaman	1988–2003	1	75	1997-09-10
69	Keown, MartinMartin Keown	1992–2002	1	43	2000-10-11
69	Barry, GarethGareth Barry	2000–2012	1	52	2011-03-29
69	Parker, ScottScott Parker	2003–2013	1	11	2012-02-29
69	Jagielka, PhilPhil Jagielka	2008–Present	1	38	2015-10-12

Disputed captaincies

Player	England career	Caps as captain	Total caps
Daft, HarryHarry Daft	1889–1892	1 or 0[5]	5
Lodge, VaughanVaughan Lodge	1894–1896	0 or 1[6]	5
Raikes, GeorgeGeorge Raikes	1895–1896	0 or 1[6]	4

Post-War Captains

Tenure	Incumbent	Others used when incumbent unavailable
1946–1948	Hardwick, GeorgeGeorge Hardwick	Swift, FrankFrank Swift
1948–1959	Wright, BillyBilly Wright	Ramsey, AlfAlf Ramsey
1959–1960	Clayton, RonnieRonnie Clayton
1960–1962	Haynes, JohnnyJohnny Haynes	Armfield, JimmyJimmy Armfield
1962–1964	Armfield, JimmyJimmy Armfield	Moore, BobbyBobby Moore
1964–1973	Moore, BobbyBobby Moore	Flowers, RonRon Flowers, Armfield, JimmyJimmy Armfield, Charlton, BobbyBobby Charlton, Mullery, AlanAlan Mullery, Peters, MartinMartin Peters, Bell, ColinColin Bell
1974	Hughes, EmlynEmlyn Hughes
1975	Ball, AlanAlan Ball
1975–1976	Francis, GerryGerry Francis	Keegan, KevinKevin Keegan
1976–1982	Keegan, KevinKevin Keegan	Hughes, EmlynEmlyn Hughes, Mills, MickMick Mills, Thompson, PhilPhil Thompson, Cherry, TrevorTrevor Cherry, Clemence, RayRay Clemence, Shilton, PeterPeter Shilton
1982–1991	Robson, BryanBryan Robson	Wilkins, RayRay Wilkins, Shilton, PeterPeter Shilton, Butcher, TerryTerry Butcher, Beardsley, PeterPeter Beardsley
1990–1992	Lineker, GaryGary Lineker	Mark Wright, Pearce, StuartStuart Pearce
1992–1993	Pearce, StuartStuart Pearce	Ince, PaulPaul Ince, Platt, DavidDavid Platt
1993–1995	Platt, DavidDavid Platt	Ince, PaulPaul Ince, Adams, TonyTony Adams
1995-1996	Adams, TonyTony Adams	Shearer, AlanAlan Shearer
1996–2000	Shearer, AlanAlan Shearer	Pearce, StuartStuart Pearce, Ince, PaulPaul Ince, Seaman, DavidDavid Seaman, Adams, TonyTony Adams, Campbell, SolSol Campbell, Keown, MartinMartin Keown,
2000–2006	Beckham, DavidDavid Beckham	Owen, MichaelMichael Owen, Gerrard, StevenSteven Gerrard
2006–2010	Terry, JohnJohn Terry	Ferdinand, RioRio Ferdinand, Gerrard, StevenSteven Gerrard, Beckham, DavidDavid Beckham
2010–2011	Ferdinand, RioRio Ferdinand	Gerrard, StevenSteven Gerrard, Lampard, FrankFrank Lampard, Barry, GarethGareth Barry
2011–2012	Terry, JohnJohn Terry	Gerrard, StevenSteven Gerrard, Lampard, FrankFrank Lampard, Parker, ScottScott Parker
2012–2014	Gerrard, StevenSteven Gerrard	Lampard, FrankFrank Lampard, Rooney, WayneWayne Rooney, Cole, AshleyAshley Cole
2014–	Rooney, WayneWayne Rooney	Cahill, GaryGary Cahill, Hart, JoeJoe Hart, Jagielka, PhilPhil Jagielka, Milner, JamesJames Milner

Unofficial captaincies

Players who have received the captain's armband during the course of a game are not considered by the Football Association as being official England captains.^[7] However, the following players - who have never officially captained England - have worn the captain's armband during the course of a match when the official captain and vice-captain have been sent off or substituted:

• Robbie Fowler^[8]
• Danny Mills^[9]
• Emile Heskey^[10]
• Phil Neville^[10]
• Jamie Carragher^[10]
• David James^[11]
• Gary Neville^[12]
• James Milner^[13]
• Joleon Lescott^[14]
• Michael Carrick^[15]

Footnotes

1. Alfred Bower was the last amateur player to captain England
2. Sources differ concerning the captaincy for England vs Wales, 12 March 1894. It was either Charles Wreford-Brown or Cunliffe Gosling
3. Sources differ concerning the captaincy for England vs Wales, 18 January 1879. It was either Arthur Cursham or Henry Wace
4. Claude Ashton was the last player to be appointed captain for his solitary England appearance
5. Ireland 0 - England 2; 5 March 1892 (Match summary)
6. The captaincy for England vs Ireland, 7 March 1896 is disputed between GO Smith (13 confirmed captaincies), and George Raikes and Vaughan Lodge, neither of whom had captained England in another match.
7. "England's Captains - Index". Englandfootballonline.com. Retrieved 2012-08-13.
8. "England Match No. 787 - Italy - 27 March 2002 - Match Summary and Report". Englandfootballonline.com. Retrieved 2012-08-13.
9. "England Match No. 799 - Australia - 12 February 2003 - Match Summary and Report". Englandfootballonline.com. Retrieved 2012-08-13.
10. "England Match No. 803 - Serbia & Montenegro - 3 June 2003 - Match Summary and Report". Englandfootballonline.com. Retrieved 2012-08-13.
11. "England Match No. 827 - USA - 28 May 2005 - Match Summary and Report". Englandfootballonline.com. Retrieved 2012-08-13.
12. "England Match No. 842 - Portugal - 1 July 2006 - Match Summary and Report". Englandfootballonline.com. Retrieved 2012-08-13.
13. "England Match No. 893 - France - 17 November 2010 - Match Summary and Report". Englandfootballonline.com. Retrieved 2012-08-13.
14. "England Match No. 904 - Norway - 26 May 2012 - Match Summary and Report". Englandfootballonline.com. Retrieved 2014-06-18.
15. "England Match No. 910 - Italy - 15 August 2012 - Match Summary and Report". Englandfootballonline.com. Retrieved 2014-06-18.

External links

• England football captains database