Harry Kane will become the most-capped men’s player in England history when the Three Lions face Croatia in the Nations League at Wembley on Thursday (19:45 GMT). His 126th appearance will move him past Peter Shilton, who won 125 caps between 1970 and 1990.
“It’s not about me – it’s about the team,” said Kane, who has scored 91 goals in 125 appearances for his country. “I love coming to every England camp, I love playing every game and representing the country in the best way possible.”
Eleven years ago, England boss Roy Hodgson welcomed the 21-year-old Tottenham striker after Kane scored 79 seconds into his international debut. “It’s great when fairytales come true,” Hodgson said. “Let’s hope it’s the start of a good and long England career for him.”
Kane, now 33, has experienced every emotion in an England shirt. He fought back tears after missing a penalty in the 2022 World Cup quarter-final defeat by France. At this summer’s World Cup, he sang Wonderwall with fans after the win over Croatia, a moment he called one of his “favourite ever moments” in a Three Lions shirt.
The London-born striker grew up in Chingford and has since captained his country, become England’s record goalscorer and won the 2026 Ballon d’Or. Now the Bayern Munich striker stands on the brink of more appearances than any other man in England’s history.
“He wins the Ballon d’Or, and deservedly so, and in the next game for England he gets the all-time record with 126 matches,” England boss Thomas Tuchel said when he announced his squad last week. “Thursday is a deserved occasion to celebrate an extraordinary player.”
The England fan
Long before Kane made his senior debut in a 4-0 Euro 2016 qualifying win over Lithuania at Wembley, he was an England supporter. Aged 12, he remembers the heartache of England’s penalty shootout exit to Portugal in the 2006 World Cup quarter-finals under Sven-Goran Eriksson, and the failure to qualify for Euro 2008 under Steve McClaren.
“During most major tournaments we would go to the pub to watch England, with the beer garden and the screen,” Kane said. “We loved England, we loved watching England and we were big England fans. I remember many tears being shed after we went out on penalties and things like that.”
Kane fell in love with football early. Aged five, he wrote about his ambition to become a footballer in a school project. He spent weekends and holidays playing in his local Ridgeway Park with his dad, Patrick, and his brother, Charlie. They used trees as goalposts, and the brothers took turns shooting while Patrick kept goal.
At Larkswood Primary School, Kane and his friends played in the playground, where they were only allowed to use tennis balls. By then, he was playing Sunday league football for Ridgeway Rovers, a club whose former players included David Beckham, Kane’s idol growing up.
Beckham, who won 115 England caps between 1996 and 2009, was playing for Real Madrid when Kane attended Chingford Foundation School. “He had sent a Real Madrid shirt back to our secondary school,” Kane said. “Seeing Beckham’s shirt hanging there growing up and knowing he grew up in the same surroundings as I did was a source of great motivation.”
The leader
Wayne Rooney was England captain and Joe Hart was in goal when Kane made his debut. “My reaction when he first came into the England squad was: ‘Alright, who is this guy?'” Hart said of the young Tottenham striker, who had scored 26 goals in 42 league and cup games in 2014-15. “Then I was like: ‘Oh OK, he’s good!’ Then he kept coming back [into the England squad] and my reaction was: ‘Flipping heck, he’s getting better!’
“I went to Tottenham during Covid and it got to the point in training where he was that good that I wasn’t even diving for his shots. I was thinking: ‘I adore you, but you are frustrating the life out of me.'”
Kane has played under five England managers. He won 81 of his 125 caps under Gareth Southgate, played for Lee Carsley when he was interim boss in 2024, and appeared in Sam Allardyce’s only match in charge in 2016.
Southgate recognised Kane’s leadership and gave him the captaincy for the first time in 2017, even though Kane was not Tottenham’s captain at the time. “I want people with leadership qualities who are respected by the group, and capable of stepping forward at the right moments and handling responsibility,” Southgate said. Kane has captained England 97 times, more than anyone else.
The role model
Kane has won individual awards and back-to-back Bundesliga titles with Bayern Munich, but he has yet to lead his country to a major trophy. England, Scotland, Wales and the Republic of Ireland will co-host Euro 2028, when Kane will be approaching 35.
“He aged, but he got better too, like red wine,” said Lothar Matthaus, West Germany’s 1990 World Cup-winning captain.
Kane, who has adapted his game to stay at the highest level, is not ready to discuss retirement. “From a physical point of view, I feel great,” he said recently. “My numbers are as high as ever, and I’ve recently reached a new top speed in a game against Borussia Dortmund. I’m going to keep pushing and see what else is possible.”
Hart noted that Kane has never relied on pace. “It’s all about his thought process and his brain and how he calculates the game,” he said.
England have won 83, drawn 22 and lost 20 of the 125 matches Kane has played. His 91 goals include 58 with his right foot, 15 with his left and 18 headers, and three from outside the box. Twenty-six have come from the penalty spot.
Kane’s path from Leyton Orient loan signing to Ballon d’Or winner is well documented. His story, from model student and family man who married his childhood sweetheart to England great, reminds pupils at his old school never to give up on their dreams.
He has also not forgotten the clubs that helped him early on. In 2020, Kane sponsored Leyton Orient’s shirt. The home strip carried a message of thanks to frontline workers fighting the coronavirus pandemic, and mental health charity Mind and Haven House Children’s Hospice featured on the change shirts.
“I was born and brought up only a couple of miles from Orient’s stadium and I’m really happy to have the opportunity to give back to the club that gave me my first professional start,” Kane said at the time. “It also gives me a platform to say a big thank you to the many frontline heroes and charities out there who provide care and support during these challenging times.”
Matthaus, who has seen Kane’s impact at Bayern Munich, added: “He is a good person, a good ambassador, the captain of the English national team playing at a German club.”
On Thursday, England’s players and fans will celebrate Kane’s latest record and his 126 appearances.