Harry Kane and Wayne Rooney are constantly pitted against each other as both legendary goalscorers have a claim for being England’s greatest striker of all time.
Rio Ferdinand considers Rooney had a fear factor surrounding him during his playing days for Manchester United which would make him a nightmare for even the most imposing of centre-backs — which highlights how extraordinary of a forward he was.
But then Kane outscored Wayne Rooney in the Premier League despite playing for inferior Spurs sides in comparison to the unforgettable United teams he played for.
Regardless of where one stands on the seemingly never-ending debate between Harry Kane and Wayne Rooney, what cannot be argued is that both are legends of the English game.
Jamie Carragher was quizzed about who out of the pair is England’s best striker amongst other illustrious names like Alan Shearer and Gary Lineker.
Jamie Carragher picks Harry Kane over Wayne Rooney as England’s greatest-ever striker
Carragher had the pleasure of playing with Wayne Rooney while he only watched Kane’s career unfold as a pundit.
As a result, one would expect that Jamie Carragher would side with Rooney over Kane.
But the choice is difficult for anyone to make between the two, with Heung-min Son naming Kane as a legendary striker who has gone on to become a modern-day great over the years.
Jamie Carragher ultimately opted for Kane as England’s best-ever number nine over Wayne Rooney.
Carragher said on The Overlap US’ podcast, It’s Called Soccer: “I think he is England’s greatest-ever striker, I said that a few weeks ago. The competition is probably Alan Shearer, Wayne Rooney’s a funny one because when I think of strikers, I don’t really think of Wayne. I class Wayne more as an all-round player so maybe the answer to that is Wayne Rooney.”
“But I’m going to stick with Harry Kane. He’s got more goals than anybody for England before we go any further with that. He’s played in England teams that have gone to two finals and obviously, we know we’ve won the World Cup, Jimmy Greaves was a part of that but he didn’t play in the final, Geoff Hurst, I don’t think’s the quality of Harry Kane.”
“Jimmy Greaves will probably be right up there as well but I think what Harry Kane’s goals in the Premier League, I think if he stayed in the Premier League, he’d have beaten Alan Shearer’s record.”
Harry Kane and Wayne Rooney’s England records compared
The Liverpool legend’s claim is certainly controversial but in fairness to him, he did emphasise that Wayne Rooney is the better player overall.
But when looking at both Kane and Rooney’s records for England, the former Tottenham Hotspur striker has the edge over the retired maverick.
| ENGLAND RECORD | HARRY KANE | WAYNE ROONEY |
| APPEARANCES | 105 | 120 |
| GOALS | 71 | 53 |
| GOALS IN INTERNATIONAL TOURNAMENTS | 15 | 7 |
| ASSISTS | 19 | 21 |
Considering Kane has more goals in total (71) and during international tournaments for England (15) than Rooney, perhaps Jamie Carragher had no choice but to side with him over Rooney.
However, the 39-year-old did provide more assists (21) and appearances (120) than the Spurs icon.
Based on their overall careers, Rooney certainly has the edge over Kane, especially due to the number of trophies he won at club level.
But as out-and-out goalscorers, the latter is perhaps better than the former due to being a traditional frontman.
