List of England national football team captains
Encyclopedia
This article lists all the captains of the England national football team.
The first ever 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, 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.
in June 2011. The default order for this list is by most appearances as captain, then chronological order of first captaincy. Only confirmed captaincies are counted.
as being official England captains. 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
:
The first ever England
England national football team
The England national football team represents England in association football and is controlled by the Football Association, the governing body for football in England. England is the joint oldest national football team in the world, alongside Scotland, whom they played in the world's first...
captain was Cuthbert Ottaway
Cuthbert Ottaway
Cuthbert John Ottaway , one of the most talented and versatile sportsmen of the 1870s, was the first captain of the England football team and led his side in the first official international football match....
, he captained England in the first ever international match, against Scotland
Scotland national football team
The Scotland national football team represents Scotland in international football and is controlled by the Scottish Football Association. Scotland are the joint oldest national football team in the world, alongside England, whom they played in the world's first international football match in 1872...
on 30 November 1872. He went on to captain England on just one further occasion, the third international match, 7 March 1874, against the same opposition. Alexander Morten
Alexander Morten
Alexander Morten was an English footballer who captained the England team in its second official international, played against Scotland on 8 March 1873....
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
Bobby Moore
Robert Frederick Chelsea "Bobby" Moore, OBE was an English footballer. He captained West Ham United for more than ten years and was captain of the England team that won the 1966 World Cup...
, who remains the only England captain to have lifted the World Cup
FIFA World Cup
The FIFA World Cup, often simply the World Cup, is an international association football competition contested by the senior men's national teams of the members of Fédération Internationale de Football Association , the sport's global governing body...
, reached 90 captaincies in 1973, and shares the record with Wright.
List of Captains
Figures include all recognised matches up to and including vs SwitzerlandSwitzerland national football team
The Swiss national football team is the national football team of Switzerland...
in June 2011. 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 | 1946–1959 | 90 | 105 | 1948-10-09 | |
| 1 | 1962–1973 | 90 | 108 | 1963-05-29 | |
| 3 | 1980–1991 | 65 | 90 | 1982-11-17 | |
| 4 | 1996–2009 | 59 | 115 | 2000-11-15 | |
| 5 | 1992–2000 | 34 | 63 | 1996-09-01 | |
| 6 | 1972–1982 | 31 | 63 | 1976-03-24 | |
| 7 | 2003–present | 30 | 68 | 2006-08-16 | |
| 8 | 1969–1980 | 23 | 62 | 1974-03-11 | |
| 9 | 1902–1914 | 22 | 41 | 1903-03-02 | |
| 10 | 1954–1962 | 22 | 56 | 1960-05-15 | |
| 11 | 1933–1939 | 21 | 30 | 1934-11-14 | |
| 12 | 1989–1996 | 19 | 62 | 1993-02-17 | |
| 13 | 1984–1992 | 18 | 80 | 1990-09-12 | |
| 14 | 1878–1887 | 15 | 19 | 1881-03-12 | |
| 14 | 1959–1966 | 15 | 43 | 1961-09-28 | |
| 14 | 1970–1990 | 15 | 125 | 1982-05-25 | |
| 14 | 1987–2000 | 15 | 66 | 1994-10-12 | |
| 14 | 2000–present | 15 | 89 | 2004-03-31 | |
| 19 | 1903–1911 | 14 | 23 | 1908-02-15 | |
| 20 | 1893–1901 | 13 or 14 or 15 | 20 | 1896-04-04 | |
| 20 | 1946–1948 | 13 | 13 | 1946-09-28 | |
| 22 | 1926–1933 | 12 | 25 | 1928-03-31 | |
| 23 | 1976–1986 | 10 | 84 | 1982-09-22 | |
| 23 | 1987–1999 | 10 | 78 | 1991-06-08 | |
| 25 | 1998–2008 | 9 | 89 | 2002-04-17 | |
| 26 | 1925–1929 | 8 | 11 | 1927-04-02 | |
| 26 | 1972–1982 | 8 | 42 | 1978-05-13 | |
| 26 | 1976-1976 | 8 | 12 | 1975-09-03 | |
| 29 | 1921–1924 | 7 | 12 | 1921-10-22 | |
| 29 | 1980–1990 | 7 | 77 | 1986-11-12 | |
| 29 | 1992–2000 | 7 | 53 | 1993-06-09 | |
| 29 | 1997–present | 7 | 81 | 2008-03-26 | |
| 33 | 1934–1939 | 6 | 19 | 1936-11-18 | |
| 33 | 1965–1975 | 6 | 72 | 1975-03-12 | |
| 33 | 1976–1982 | 6 | 42 | 1979-11-22 | |
| 36 | 1885–1890 | 5 | 13 | 1886-03-13 | |
| 36 | 1926–1929 | 5 | 16 | 1928-10-22 | |
| 36 | 1955–1960 | 5 | 35 | 1959-10-17 | |
| 39 | 1886–1891 | 4 | 13 | 1888-02-04 | |
| 39 | 1904–1906 | 4 | 6 | 1905-02-25 | |
| 39 | 1922–1926 | 4 | 9 | 1924-10-22 | |
| 39 | 1924–1932 | 4 | 9 | 1930-04-05 | |
| 39 | 1928–1933 | 4 | 26 | 1931-12-09 | |
| 39 | 1927–1934 | 4 | 15 | 1934-04-14 | |
| 39 | 1966–1974 | 4 | 67 | 1971-05-19 | |
| 45 | 1888–1895 | 3 | 7 | 1893-03-13 | |
| 45 | 1897–1905 | 3 | 6 | 1903-02-14 | |
| 45 | 1920–1923 | 3 | 6 | 1921-04-09 | |
| 45 | 1923–1927 | 3 | 5 | 1924-12-08 | |
| 45 | 1920–1932 | 3 | 18 | 1925-05-21 | |
| 45 | 1930–1933 | 3 | 20 | 1931-05-14 | |
| 45 | 1936–1937 | 3 | 18 | 1937-10-23 | |
| 45 | 1948–1953 | 3 | 32 | 1950-11-15 | |
| 45 | 1955–1966 | 3 | 49 | 1964-05-27 | |
| 45 | 1958–1970 | 3 | 106 | 1969-01-15 | |
| 45 | 1974–1982 | 3 | 65 | 1981-04-24 | |
| 45 | 1996–2007 | 3 | 70 | 1998-05-24 | |
| 57 | 1872–1874 | 2 | 2 | 1872-11-30 | |
| 57 | 1879–1887 | 2 | 18 | 1882-02-18 | |
| 57 | 1888–1898 | 2 | 14 | 1891-03-07 | |
| 57 | 1883–1892 | 2 | 4 | 1892-03-15 | |
| 57 | 1891–1893 | 2 | 4 | 1893-02-25 | |
| 57 | 1889–1898 | 2 or 3 | 4 | 1895-03-18 | |
| 57 | 1907–1920 | 2 | 25 | 1920-03-15 | |
| 57 | 1913–1924 | 2 | 6 | 1921-03-14 | |
| 57 | 1923 | 2 | 2 | 1923-05-21 | |
| 57 | 1946–1949 | 2 | 19 | 1948-05-16 | |
| 57 | 1972–1977 | 2 | 46 | 1976-05-28 | |
| 68 | 1873 | 1 | 1 | 1873-03-08 | |
| 68 | 1875 | 1 | 1 | 1875-03-06 | |
| 68 | 1873–1878 | 1 | 5 | 1876-03-04 | |
| 68 | 1875–1877 | 1 | 2 | 1877-03-03 | |
| 68 | 1880–1884 | 1 or 2 | 6 | 1878-03-02 | |
| 68 | 1878–1879 | 1 or 2 | 3 | 1879-04-05 | |
| 68 | 1874–1880 | 1 | 4 | 1880-03-13 | |
| 68 | 1879–1880 | 1 | 3 | 1880-03-15 | |
| 68 | 1878–1882 | 1 | 7 | 1881-02-26 | |
| 68 | 1883 | 1 | 1 | 1883-02-24 | |
| 68 | 1889–1891 | 1 | 3 | 1889-03-02 | |
| 68 | 1888-1885 | 1 | 7 | 1891-04-06 | |
| 68 | 1892–1895 | 1 or 2 | 5 | 1895-04-06 | |
| 68 | 1895–1901 | 1 | 16 | 1901-03-09 | |
| 68 | 1894–1902 | 1 | 16 | 1901-03-18 | |
| 68 | 1900–1902 | 1 | 5 | 1902-03-03 | |
| 68 | 1898–1903 | 1 | 9 | 1902-03-22 | |
| 68 | 1895–1907 | 1 | 23 | 1902-05-03 | |
| 68 | 1919 | 1 | 1 | 1919-10-25 | |
| 68 | 1913–1920 | 1 | 5 | 1920-10-23 | |
| 68 | 1920–1923 | 1 | 5 | 1921-05-21 | |
| 68 | 1922 | 1 | 1 | 1922-03-13 | |
| 68 | 1923 | 1 | 1 | 1923-11-01 | |
| 68 | 1924 | 1 | 5 | 1924-04-12 | |
| 68 | 1925 | 1 | 1 | 1925-10-24 | |
| 68 | 1921–1926 | 1 | 3 | 1926-05-24 | |
| 68 | 1923–1929 | 1 | 9 | 1927-05-21 | |
| 68 | 1934–1936 | 1 | 11 | 1936-10-17 | |
| 68 | 1937–1939 | 1 | 12 | 1939-05-24 | |
| 68 | 1964–1971 | 1 | 35 | 1971-02-03 | |
| 68 | 1968–1975 | 1 | 48 | 1972-05-23 | |
| 68 | 1976–1980 | 1 | 27 | 1980-05-31 | |
| 68 | 1972–1983 | 1 | 61 | 1981-05-12 | |
| 68 | 1976–1983 | 1 | 50 | 1982-06-02 | |
| 68 | 1986–1996 | 1 | 59 | 1988-02-13 | |
| 68 | 1984–1996 | 1 | 43 | 1991-05-21 | |
| 68 | 1988–2003 | 1 | 75 | 1997-09-10 | |
| 68 | 1992–2002 | 1 | 43 | 2000-10-11 | |
| 68 | 2003–present | 1 | 70 | 2009-11-14 | |
| 68 | 1999–present | 1 | 86 | 2011-02-09 | |
| 68 | 2000–present | 1 | 46 | 2011-03-29 |
Disputed captaincies
| Player | England career | Caps as captain | Total caps |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1889–1892 | 1 or 0 | 5 | |
| 1894–1896 | 0 or 1 | 5 | |
| 1895–1896 | 0 or 1 | 4 |
Post-War Captains
| Tenure | Incumbent | Others used when incumbent unavailable |
|---|---|---|
| 1946–1948 | ||
| 1948–1959 | ||
| 1959–1960 | ||
| 1960–1962 | ||
| 1962–1964 | ||
| 1964–1973 | , , , , , | |
| 1974 | ||
| 1975 | ||
| 1975–1976 | ||
| 1976–1977 | , | |
| 1977–1979 | , , | |
| 1979–1982 | , , , , , | |
| 1982 | ||
| 1982–1991 | , , , | |
| 1990–1992 | Mark Wright, | |
| 1992–1993 | , | |
| 1993–1995 | , | |
| 1996 | ||
| 1996–2000 | , , , , , , | |
| 2000–2006 | , | |
| 2006–2007 | ||
| 2008 | Rotation | , , , |
| 2008-2010 | , , | |
| 2010-2011 | , | |
| 2011-present | ||
Unofficial captaincies
Players who have received the captain's armband during the course of a game are not considered by the Football AssociationThe Football Association
The Football Association, also known as simply The FA, is the governing body of football in England, and the Crown Dependencies of Jersey, Guernsey and the Isle of Man. It was formed in 1863, and is the oldest national football association...
as being official England captains. 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
Substitute (football)
In association football, a substitute is a player who is brought on to the pitch during a match in exchange for an existing player. Substitutions are generally made to replace a player who has become tired or injured, or who is not performing well; there may also be tactical reasons such as...
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