Photo by Habib Ayoade on Unsplash
Thomas Tuchel recently announced his final England squad of 2025, and as he did so, one thing became abundantly clear: the Three Lions are glaringly short of strikers. Captain Harry Kane has long been a reliable source of goals for club and country, with his mighty haul of 76 in 110 games already a national record. At the age of 32, the skipper is currently firing on all cylinders for Bayern Munich as well, with his recent last-gasp equalizer against Union Berlin his 23rd in just 17 games so far this term.
However, outside of the former Spurs man, there is very little for Tuchel to choose from. In fact, there are so few in-form English strikers out there right now that the German manager didn’t even select a backup for his captain, instead relying on wide men Marcus Rashford and Jarrod Bowen to back Kane up when required.
While England are clearly short on fit and firing strikers, online betting sites don’t seem too concerned just yet. The latest Bovada sports betting odds currently make the Three Lions a 13/2 second favorite to win next summer’s FIFA World Cup in North America, narrowly behind 4/1 frontrunners Spain, the team that beat England in last year’s Euro 2024 final in Berlin.
But with the Three Lions looking light on strikers, let’s take a look at the forgotten hitmen from yesteryear who thrived in the role as England’s backup striker.
Ollie Watkins
Usually, Aston Villa’s Ollie Watkins is the man who backs up Harry Kane; however, poor form and general fatigue have seen him cut from the most recent England squad. The former Exeter City youngster has scored just once for his club so far this term, hardly the form of an established international striker.
Last summer, however, Watkins showed exactly what he can do when replacing captain Kane off the bench. The mobile striker scored a last-gasp winner for England in the semifinals against the Netherlands in Dortmund at Euro 2024, propelling England to a second straight European Championship final.
ENGLAND IN THE 90TH MINUTE! ABSOLUTE SCENES! 😱💥🏴
— Bovada (@BovadaOfficial) July 10, 2024
After the goal, England fans were clamoring for Watkins to start ahead of Kane against Spain in the Berlin showpiece, with the captain struggling to make much of an impression as England reached the final. Then manager Gareth Southgate stuck with his captain, and the Three Lions were duly left heartbroken by Mikel Oyarzabal’s late winner.
Jamie Vardy
Jamie Vardy’s footballing Cinderella story is well documented. The Sheffield-born striker had to battle his way up from non-league, finally reaching the football league at the age of 25 when he joined Championship side Leicester City. From there, his rise was meteoric, helping propel the Foxes to promotion to the Premier League, before shockingly winning the title in the biggest sporting upset of all time, with the bookies pricing such a triumph at odds of 5000/1.
Vardy’s exploits throughout Leicester’s rise garnered the attention of then-England manager Roy Hodgson, calling him up for the first time in May 2015. The rapid striker would serve as backup for both Harry Kane and captain Wayne Rooney, but he still shone given the opportunity. Vardy netted a stunning backheeled equalizer in a 2016 friendly away against Germany, bagging his first for his country in a game in which England would win 3-2 after trailing 2-0.
He would also score a crucial equalizer against Wales at Euro 2016, another game in which England rallied, overturning a 1-0 halftime deficit to ultimately win 2-1 thanks to Vardy and then Daniel Sturridge’s last-gasp winner.
Peter Crouch
Plenty of eyebrows were raised back in 2005 when towering striker Peter Crouch was called up to the England squad. The 6’7 man had become a regular source of goals in the Premier League with Southampton, earning himself a move to Liverpool. As the 2006 World Cup approached, an injury to talisman Wayne Rooney suddenly thrust Crouchie from a back-up role to a starting berth, and he responded with five goals in three warm-up games, including a brilliant hat trick against Jamaica, celebrated with his now iconic robot.
After that tournament, the target man was given more of a bit-part role as Rooney resumed striking duties. Even so, however, Crouch still managed to help himself to 22 goals in just 42 games at a strike rate of a goal every 41.5 minutes. Not bad at all.
Jermain Defoe
Jermain Defoe was criminally underutilized for England. Time and again, the national team manager overlooked him, despite the predatory striker’s 325 goals throughout his stellar career. The worst of those overlookings came in 2006 when 16-year-old Theo Walcott was selected to go to the World Cup ahead of the Spurs man.
The West Ham academy product would eventually get chances, but he usually spent time backing up Wayne Rooney. He chipped in with 20 goals in 57 international appearances, including a crucial winner in a 2010 World Cup group stage game against Slovenia, which saw England progress to the Round of 16.
