No English players scored on the Premier League’s opening weekend for the first time in history in Gameweek One of the 2025-26 season.
The top flight was back in full swing over recent days as teams began their campaign, with plenty of drama across the board.
But, in data provided by Opta, it can be revealed that despite 24 goals going in over the 10 fixtures, not one of these was scored by an Englishman in what is an unprecedented statistic and a 33-year first in the history of the competition.
The issue of a lack of English stars playing in the top flight has been well documented, with former Three Lions boss Gareth Southgate regularly raising his concerns and he is unlikely to be suprised by the latest news.
Southgate’s replacement Thomas Tuchel had first-hand experience of this over the weekend, with the German taking in Man City’s 4-0 win over Wolves, where goals were scored by a Norwegian (twice), a Dutchman and a French star.
He then watched Arsenal’s 1-0 victory at Man United on Sunday afternoon when Italian Riccardo Calafiori netted the winner.
No English players scored on the Premier League’s opening weekend for the first time ever
The number of English opening day goalscorers has been steadily decreasing since 1992-93
Last season, three Englishman scored on the opening weekend, while it was eight and seven in 2023-24 and 2022-23 respectively.
The dip this time around may be caveated by the fact the likes of Ivan Toney, Harry Kane and Jude Bellingham, who were all in Tuchel’s last squad, ply their trade abroad, while Marcus Rashford joined Barcelona over the summer.
Tottenham’s Dominic Solanke has also recently returned from injury and was introduced as a late substitute in their 3-0 win against Burnley.
It may also not have taken place if Eberechi Eze’s free kick for Crystal Palace against Chelsea wasn’t ruled out after fellow countryman Marc Guehi intervened with the defensive wall.
Nevertheless, it is still concerning and the number of English opening weekend goalscorers has generally been decreasing since a record high of 22 in the inaugural Premier League campaign in 1992-93.
2021-22 is the only time in the past 15 seasons that double figures have been reached when 11 stars scored.
Meanwhile, data from the past 10 seasons shows that the most prolific star on the opening weekend is Jamie Vardy.
Vardy has netted seven times but the Leicester legend is currently without a club after leaving the King Power Stadium at the end of last season.
England boss Thomas Tuchel took in two games over the Premier League’s opening weekend
Behind Vardy is Callum Wilson with five, yet the 33-year-old couldn’t add to that when made his West Ham debut off the bench against Sunderland during the Hammers’ dire 3-0 defeat.
Raheem Sterling’s four goals over the past 10 seasons mean he is the third most prolific Englishman in opening weekend fixtures during that time frame.
Elsewhere, another worrying statistic that emerged was the 77 Englishmen to feature on the opening weekend was a record low.
That number is down from 93 last season and a high of 197 back in 1992-23.
| Season | English scorers |
|---|---|
| 1992/1993 | 22 |
| 1993/1994 | 20 |
| 1994/1995 | 21 |
| 1995/1996 | 17 |
| 1996/1997 | 12 |
| 1997/1998 | 8 |
| 1998/1999 | 9 |
| 1999/2000 | 4 |
| 2000/2001 | 9 |
| 2001/2002 | 8 |
| 2002/2003 | 9 |
| 2003/2004 | 12 |
| 2004/2005 | 11 |
| 2005/2006 | 10 |
| 2006/2007 | 15 |
| 2007/2008 | 8 |
| 2008/2009 | 7 |
| 2009/2010 | 7 |
| 2010/2011 | 10 |
| 2011/2012 | 4 |
| 2012/2013 | 9 |
| 2013/2014 | 7 |
| 2014/2015 | 6 |
| 2015/2016 | 5 |
| 2016/2017 | 9 |
| 2017/2018 | 4 |
| 2018/2019 | 6 |
| 2019/2020 | 5 |
| 2020/2021 | 8 |
| 2021/2022 | 11 |
| 2022/2023 | 7 |
| 2023/2024 | 8 |
| 2024/2025 | 3 |
| 2025/2026 | 0 |