Harry Kane and Ellen White are both within touching distance of breaking Wayne Rooney’s all-time England goalscoring record. 

Rooney broke Bobby Charlton’s long-standing record of 49 England goals in 2015 and finished his career with 53 in total. 

Six years later, however,  both Kane and White seem destined to surpass this tally and it wouldn’t be surprising if both smashed the existing record by some distance. 

The question is though, which of these players will catch Rooney first? Kane is in red hot form right now and is level with Bobby Charlton on 49, while White sits on 50 goals –– putting her second outright on the overall list.

White hits the half-century mark 

Having made her England debut way back in 2010, White has made more than 100 appearances for the Lionesses. 

In November last year, the 32-year-old became England Women’s all-time top scorer –– overtaking Kelly Smith after scoring a hat-trick against Latvia. 

That game was record-breaking in many ways as Sarina Wiegman’s side won 20-0 –– setting a new record for Englands’ largest margin of victory in an international fixture. 

Against North Macedonia last week, White scored once as England won 10-0, taking her international tally to 50. 

The Lionesses face Northern Ireland on Tuesday night and White could equal Rooney’s record with a hat-trick. 

That being said, White has largely struggled for goals domestically this season and has scored just three times in the Women’s Super League. 

England are huge favourites to win against Northern Ireland, but White may well have to wait until the next international break in June, or even Euro 2022 this summer, to overtake Rooney. 

Kane in the form of his life 

While Kane also found it difficult to score at the start of the league campaign, he is arguably in the form of his life under Antonio Conte for Spurs right now. 

The 28-year-old has also scored eight times in his last four international games for England but Gareth Southgate’s side don’t play again until June. 

What’s more, Kane’s recent hot streak for England has come against the likes of Albania and San Marino. Southgate’s team will travel to Hungary and then Germany next up and both will prove to be far sterner tests than England’s recent opposition.

England’s best ever striker? 

It seems on paper that White is the driving seat to break Rooney’s record first but will that make her England’s best striker ever? 

White currently averages 0.48 goals per game for England, which is far less than Kane’s average of 0.71. 

But both have been prolific in major tournaments and won a World Cup Golden Boot each. White scored six goals at the 2019 Women’s World Cup, while Kane scored the same amount in 2018. 

Aside from the likes of White, Rooney and Kane, England have been blessed with other world-class strikers. 

Who can forget Gary Lineker’s impact at the World Cup in 1990 or Michael Owen’s goal against Argentina in 1998? 

In this way, it’s hard to decide who England’s greatest ever striker is as of now. However, if Kane and White carry on like they are, it could soon become a two-horse race.