Wayne Rooney could become England's all-time record goalscorer in the unlikely event he scores a hat-trick against Italy tonight – but will that make him the greatest?

Rooney's strike against Lithuania at the weekend put him on 47, one behind Gary Lineker and two fewer than Sir Bobby Charlton's record.

But there are far more international games now than 'back in the day', so how does his goals per game ratio stand up against England's other players?

Not even close: Wayne Rooney could soon be England's all time top scorer, but his goals per game ratio does not come close

There are plenty who've played a couple of games and nabbed the odd goal, such as Francis Jeffers and his one goal from one game, so to remove all the flash-in-the-pans we'll just look at players who have played at least 10 games and scored at least 10 goals for England.

Rooney comes way down the list, with a scoring ratio of just under 0.5 per game, the same as Charlton, while Alan Shearer's 30 goals from 63 games also put him just under the 0.5 per game mark, along with Sir Geoff Hurst and Michael Owen.

Lineker's 48 goals came in 80 games, so averages 0.6 per game, while Newcastle legend Jackie Milburn scored 10 from 13, or 0.8per game, the same ratio as Jimmy Greaves.

Record holder: But even Bobby Charlton falls way down the list of goals per game top scorers for England

Top of the pile though is former Spurs and Chelsea forward Vivian Woodward, who played for England before the First World War and scored 29 goals in 23 games for the Three Lions, giving him a scoring ratio of 1.3 a game.

Woodward played for Chelsea in the club's early days, from 1909-1915, but missed the chance to play in their first FA Cup final in 1915 as he had enlisted in the British Army and was serving in the 17 Battalion of the Middlesex Regiment, known as the 'Footballers Battalion'.

The man who captained the GB men's football team to gold in both the 1908 and 1912 Olympics also reached the rank of captain with his regiment, but injuries sustained on the western front meant he did not return to top class football after the war. He died in Ealing in 1954, aged 74.

Bloomin 'eck: Only Steve Bloomer, another pre-war player, came close to matching Woodward's goals per game ratio

Woodward is followed by Steve Bloomer, who scored 28 in 23 (1.2 per game), while Everton legend Dixie Dean has the third best ratio at 1.1 per game, having scored 18 in 16. Dr Tinsley Lindley scored 14 from 13 games (also 1.1 per game), while Tommy Lawton bagged 22 from 23 starts (1.0 per game).

Player | Goals per game | Goals | Apps
Vivian Woodward | 1.3 | 29 | 23
Steve Bloomer | 1.2 | 28 | 23
Dixie Dean | 1.1 | 18 | 16
Tinsley Lindley | 1.1 | 14 | 13
Tommy Lawton | 1.0 | 22 | 23
Stan Mortensen | 0.9 | 23 | 25
Bobby Smith | 0.9 | 13 | 15
Tommy Taylor | 0.8 | 16 | 19
Jimmy Greaves | 0.8 | 44 | 57
Jackie Milburn | 0.8 | 10 | 13
Gary Lineker | 0.6 | 48 | 80
Cliff Bastin | 0.6 | 12 | 21
Martin Chivers | 0.5 | 13 | 24
Peter Crouch | 0.5 | 22 | 42
Geoff Hurst | 0.5 | 24 | 49
Alan Shearer | 0.5 | 30 | 63
Bobby Charlton | 0.5 | 49 | 106
Micky Channon | 0.5 | 21 | 46
Wayne Rooney | 0.5 | 46 | 101
Michael Owen | 0.4 | 40 | 89

David Platt | 0.4 | 27 | 62
Danny Welbeck | 0.4 | 13 | 32
Tom Finney | 0.4 | 30 | 76
Tony Woodcock | 0.4 | 16 | 42
Paul Mariner | 0.4 | 13 | 35
Jermain Defoe | 0.3 | 19 | 55
Kevin Keegan | 0.3 | 21 | 63
Johnny Haynes | 0.3 | 18 | 56
Martin Peters | 0.3 | 20 | 67
Bryan Robson | 0.3 | 26 | 90
Frank Lampard | 0.3 | 29 | 106
Trevor Francis | 0.2 | 12 | 52
Paul Scholes | 0.2 | 14 | 66
Steven Gerrard | 0.2 | 21 | 114
David Beckham | 0.1 | 17 | 115
John Barnes | 0.1 | 10 | 79