Alessia Russo Climbs England Women’s All-Time Goalscoring List

Alessia Russo’s latest England goal against Greece has taken the Arsenal forward to 33 international strikes, lifting her further up the Lionesses’ all-time scoring list after she first entered the top 10 with the winner against Iceland in April.

Lionesses all-time scoring chase

Russo’s return is among the strongest in the leading group, with only four players above her on the historical list producing a better goals-per-game rate. The centre-forward is now level with Karen Carney and Eniola Aluko, both of whom finished on 33 goals.

Stanway is the active player making the fastest climb. The Bayern Munich midfielder has scored 35 times and supplied 21 assists across her 95 England outings, an exceptional output for a player who has not operated primarily as a striker. Still only 27, she has surged up the standings through her scoring form across 2025 and 2026.

Mead remains the nearest current challenger to the record. Her 40 goals in 81 caps give the winger the best scoring average of any player in the top group, with only former forward Karen Walker ahead of her by that measure among the historical leaders. Six of Mead’s goals came during England’s Euro 2022-winning campaign, when she collected the Golden Boot.

Walker scored 41 times in 86 internationals between 1988 and 2003. One of her defining England moments came at the 1995 Women’s World Cup, when her goal put England 2-1 ahead of Nigeria in a group-stage victory that sent the side into the quarter-finals on their tournament debut.

Kerry Davis stands on 43 goals from 90 appearances. The first Black woman to play for England, she featured in defence and midfield as well as attack after making her debut in 1982. Davis remained the Lionesses’ record scorer until Kelly Smith overtook her in 2012, 14 years after Davis’ final international appearance.

Smith ended her England career with 46 goals. She moved beyond Davis with a double against Finland in February 2012 and added one further international goal, against Scotland the following year. Her 2007 World Cup strike against Japan also produced one of the most enduring England images, when she celebrated by removing and kissing her boot.

White is still the target for every current Lioness. She broke Smith’s record with a hat-trick against Latvia in September 2021, drawing level with the first goal before moving clear with the next two. Four more followed before her retirement after the Euro 2022 title success.

The former Manchester City striker finished with 52 goals in 113 caps. She scored twice at Euro 2022 and registered 10 goals at major tournaments overall, including six at the 2019 World Cup, where she won the Bronze Ball.

Further down the same crowded section of the chart, Carney scored 33 goals during a 14-year international career. She struck twice during England’s run to the Euro 2009 final, including against Germany in the final, and also scored twice on the way to the 2015 World Cup semi-finals.

Aluko reached the same total over 13 years, doing so in 39 fewer matches than Carney. At Euro 2009 she scored three times, including two against hosts Finland in the quarter-finals. Her decisive contribution in the 3-2 group-stage win over Russia had already helped set England on course for the final.

Fara Williams, England’s most-capped player, was another major-tournament specialist across an 18-year international career. She scored eight times at major finals, from her first against Denmark at Euro 2005 through to the penalty that beat Germany in the 2015 World Cup third-place play-off.

What happens next: Russo needs only two more goals to catch Stanway, while Mead is one goal behind Walker and three short of Davis. White’s 52-goal benchmark remains 12 clear of Mead, the closest active pursuer.