15 October 1986
England 3-0 Northern Ireland: Gary Lineker

England captain Gary Lineker scores the third goal in a European Championship qualifier against Northern Ireland in October 1986.


Continuing our series of looking at the careers of some of the greatest players to have ever worn the famous Three Lions, we remember the career of Gary Lineker.

Lineker was undoubtedly the top England striker of his generation and was just one goal away from equalling Bobby Charlton's all-time scoring record.

The Leicester-born forward made his Three Lions debut in 1984 at the relatively late age of 23, but finished his international career with 48 goals from 80 appearances.

Lineker shot to prominence at the 1986 World Cup when he won the Golden Boot - the first Englishman to claim the illustrious prize - with six goals as England reached the quarter-finals.

A hat-trick against Poland in the group stages was the highlight, but there was also a brace against Paraguay and one in the 2-1 defeat to Argentina as Lineker became a world-wide star.

It was the culmination of a superb year that had seen him net 30 times for Everton in the League and earn a high-profile move to Barcelona.

From then, Lineker was the main marksman for England and it was no surprise that he played a major role in leading the side to the World Cup semi-finals in 1990.

Having scored against the Republic of Ireland in the group stages, he netted two vital penalties versus Cameroon in the quarter-final and grabbed an equaliser against West Germany in the semi before suffering heartbreak in the shoot-out.

Meanwhile, at club level, after winning the European Cup Winners' Cup with Barcelona he returned to his homeland and joined Tottenham where he lifted The FA Cup in 1991.

Equally impressive was the manner in which Lineker conducted himself on and off the pitch - he was never booked - and, in 1992, was awarded an OBE for his services to football.

That was also the year that his England career came to an end in slightly frustrating circumstances. First, there was a penalty miss in a friendly against Brazil at Wembley which would have brought him level with Bobby Charlton on 49 international goals.

Then, he was substituted during the final group game of the European Championships, with England needing to win to go through, which ultimately proved to be his last appearance in the famous white shirt.

But it did not diminish from the outstanding service he gave to his country with Bobby Robson, who handed him his England debut, explaining just why he was such a deadly striker.

"He was just a natural goalscorer," Robson said. "He didn't join in many movements but his first touch in the box was brilliant. He just came alive when he was in the penalty area."

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