In September 2024, Harry Kane became the tenth player to win their 100th cap for England’s men’s national team.
And, in customary fashion for the Bayern Munich frontman, he notched a brace of goals as the Three Lions overcame Finland 2-0.
In doing so, Kane became the third England centurion to score on the occasion of their 100th cap, alongside Bobby Charlton and Wayne Rooney.
At the age of 31, and as the best striker currently available for selection for England, Kane will now no doubt be starting to target a slew of records in his midst.
The first will be becoming England’s all-time most capped player – an extraordinary achievement for an outfield player. The current record is held by goalkeeper Peter Shilton, who played 125 times for the Three Lions.
And with 68 goals for England to his name, at a remarkable (and easy to calculate) average of 0.68 per game, Kane may also be looking to add his name to a very select group that has notched 100 or more times in international football.
So here’s a comprehensive statistical look at why Harry Kane, one day at least, may be considered to be England’s greatest ever player.
The 100 Club
More than 500 players have made 100 or more appearances for their countries; so, even though the feat is a remarkable ode to a player’s talent and longevity, it’s not actually all that rare.
As mentioned, ten players have won 100 or more caps for England:
There’s an asterisk next to Kane’s name, because he’s the only current member of the 100-cap club with the power to add more appearances to his collection.
Of course, the striker is fortunate in that the international calendar is so stacked these days. One upon a time, England’s only competitive games came in the World Cup and the European Championships in their quadrennial rotation – they might play a few friendlies in the run-up to those tournaments, but that would be about it.
That’s why the 100-cap club is dominated by ‘modern era’ players, who have far more opportunities to rack up international appearances. That being said, it’s a tremendous achievement simply to represent England….to do so 100+ times is remarkable in any era.
The availability of games – or lack thereof – is one of the reasons why the successes of Shilton, Moore, Charlton and Wright are so impressive. Goalkeepers have an edge as they can play on into their forties, hence Shilton’s standing, but for Moore, Charlton and Wright to have racked up 100 caps – in an era without much in the way of sports science and nutrition, and with a scarcer fixture list – is outstanding.
Moore and Wright in particular are worthy of an extended mention. Here’s the ages of the players as they won their 100th cap for England:
- Wayne Rooney – 29 years, 222 days
- Harry Kane – 31 years, 45 days
- Bobby Moore – 31 years, 308 days
- Ashley Cole – 32 years, 48 days
- Steven Gerrard – 32 years, 169 days
For Moore, who remember had far fewer opportunities to win England caps than his modern age counterparts, to have joined the 100 club shy of his 32nd birthday is a testament to his ability both on the pitch and in avoiding significant injuries.
Moore is still the fastest player to record 100 caps for England too. After making his debut in 1962, the defender was handed his centenary cap just ten years and 271 days later.
Wright too has achieved a record that may never be broken: he once played in 70 consecutive games for England. This is not a player that got injured or ever needed a rest!
Who is England’s Most Capped Player?
As we discovered earlier, Peter Shilton is England’s most capped player in history with 125 appearances.
But, assuming he stays fit and continues banging in the goals at club level, it seems inevitable that Kane will surpass that record.
England have four more UEFA Nations League matchdays to come in 2024, while there’s more games in that competition to come in 2025 (depending on the Three Lions’ progress) alongside a minimum of six World Cup 2026 qualifiers.
If Kane stays fit and in form, he could well be up and over the 110-cap mark by the end of 2025.
And then, in 2026, comes the World Cup in North America and Mexico. Kane would be turning 33 years of age at that point – not excessively old for an international striker, in a year in which (assuming they qualify) England will play at least three games at the tournament and a handful of friendlies beforehand.
Nobody has a crystal ball – and we all know how unpredictable elite sport in particular can be, but it looks as though Kane will end his career as England’s most capped player in history.
The striker already has a similar style of record to his name. He’s actually played in more competitive games for England than any other player – 83, as of September 2024.
Of course, he benefits from playing in the Nations League and more extensive qualification campaigns than those who came before him, but even so it’s still a tremendous achievement.
What’s more, 29 of those appearances (at the time of writing) have come in major tournaments, i.e. the World Cup or the Euros. That’s more than any other England player in history.
Goal King Kane
As one of just two strikers to have won 100 or more caps for England, it perhaps comes as no surprise that nobody has scored more goals for the Three Lions than Kane.
He has, at the time of writing, notched 68 times for England – 15 more than his closest rival, Wayne Rooney, and with the power to add more to his collection too.
Of those who scored 40 or more goals for England, Kane’s strike rate also stands up to scrutiny:
Amongst England’s most prolific goalscorers in history, only Jimmy Greaves recorded a better goal-per-game ratio than Kane.
We must say a special word for Bobby Charlton, too: his 49 goals at 0.46 per game came while playing as a midfielder!
As well as blasting the most goals for England, Kane has also notched the most in competitive action too (60); proving that there’s far more to his game than being a flat-track bully in friendly games against weaker opposition.
As if all that wasn’t enough record breaking, Kane also set another milestone back in 2021: he scored 16 times for England, which is the most in a single calendar year for the Three Lions.
Who Has Scored the Most International Goals?
For the time being at least, Kane isn’t in danger of challenging the most prolific goalscorers in international football history.
Three players have scored 100 or more goals for their country, and the irony is not lost on anyone that Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi – two of the greatest footballers of all time – are amongst that trio.
Ali Daei, Sunil Chhetri and Mokhtar Dahari may not be globally-recognised names, but they deserve accolades based upon how prolific they have been for their respective countries over the years.
It’s worth noting too that Ronaldo and Messi, as well as Ali Mabkhout, Romelu Lukaku and Robert Lewandowski are still actively playing at the international level, so have the power to add more goals to their tallies.
It may surprise those who have been following English club football for a number of years, but Lukaku is still only 31 years of age – he looks the most likely to join Ronaldo, Messi and Daei in that exclusive 100-goals club.
Now for some very basic maths….
Let’s imagine that Kane goes on to win 125 caps for England. At his current scoring rate of 0.68 goals per game, where would that put him on the list of all-time international goalscorers?
He would, at that rate, finish his career on 85 goals for England; impressive, but not enough to haul in those in the upper echelons of international goalscoring.
For a cruder measure, Kane averages around 15 goals per 18 months for England. So, if he plays for another three years – which is conservative, when you consider the longevity of his peers like Ronaldo and Messi – that would take him up to 98….agonisingly short of 100-club membership.
It’s rare, but occasionally footballers mature like a fine wine, getting better with age. Kane will have to hope that’s written in the stars for him, as it might just get him into exclusive brigade of players who have notched 100 or more goals for their country.
Who Has the Most International Caps in Football?
Kane’s 100th cap propels him into a select band of players who have celebrated their centenary on the international stage.
While that alone is an accolade to savour, it still leaves the England striker a considerable margin away from becoming one of the all-time appearance makers in international football.
Cristiano Ronaldo is the only footballer in history to have won 200 or more caps for their country. When his incredible playing career does finally come to an end, that’s a record that will stand the test of time alongside his jam-packed trophy cabinet.
In truth, he may be the only player that ever gets to 200 caps, too. Messi will need to play for another two years to get close – that would take him beyond his 39th birthday, while the same is true for Luka Modric; he would be the grand old age of 41 before he got close to the milestone.
As for Kane….well, he’s halfway there, at least! Even if he won an average of eight caps over the next five years, he’d still only get up to around 140.
That would make him the most capped player in England’s history, but nowhere close to the summit of the international cap standings.
Harry Kane: Flat Track Bully?
Just pouring over these statistics reminds us of just how special Harry Kane’s career has been. Even if his trophy cabinet is somewhat bare at the end of his playing days, the striker can rest easy knowing he’s arguably England’s greatest ever player.
Of course, this being England, there’s always plenty of detractors trying to bring you down….
They argue that Kane has made the most of opportunities not available to players of yesteryear, both in terms of the quantity of international games played these days, but also in the quality (or lack thereof), of some of the opponents he has come up against on the national stage.
Is that a fair argument? Well, here’s the countries against whom Kane has scored the most goals:
There’s ten countries against whom Kane has scored three or more goals in his career to date. Evidently, there’s minnows in there like San Marino and Albania, while his three goals against Panama all came in a single World Cup game back in 2018.
But there’s big hitters in there too. Germany’s international pedigree requires little introduction, Italy won the European Championship in 2021 and France were World Cup finalists in 2022….to that end, Kane’s detractors are doing him dirty.
Let’s expand our analysis. Looking at the teams against whom Kane has scored two or more goals against during his international career, here’s their FIFA world ranking (as of September 2024) in tiers of 25 places:
Accusations of Kane being a ‘flat track bully’ can be easily kicked to the kerb. He has scored the vast majority of his goals against teams ranked inside FIFA’s top 75 – in fact, of all the teams Kane has scored two or more goals against, 30% (France, Germany, Italy, Switzerland, Denmark and Ukraine) have been ranked inside the top 25.
All told, 55% of Kane’s two-goal or more games have come against nations ranked inside FIFA’s top 50.
Now, you can argue against the merits of FIFA’s ranking system – many have before, and many more will do so – but the basic fact is that Kane scores against opponents of all grades; and specifically seems to raise his game against the most challenging opposition.
And that, of course, is the mark of an outstanding footballer….
Big Time Player
Perhaps one of Kane’s lasting legacies as an international footballer will be the heights that he helped to lift England to.
As well as being one of the most prolific goalscorers for the Three Lions ever, Kane is also one of his country’s most enduring captains. He took the armband ahead of the 2018 World Cup, where England matched their best finish in the tournament in more than 50 years after reaching the semi-finals.
Kane was also skipper at Euro 2020 – England reached their first major tournament final since 1966, and again at the Euros in 2024, where the Three Lions reached their second big final with the striker as captain.
Over a sustained period, that is as successful a captain as England have had without lifting a major trophy, and it’s Kane’s goals that have been crucial to that run.
He won the Golden Boot at World Cup 2018 and was joint top-goalscorer again at Euro 2024; confirming his status as England’s most prolific frontman in major tournaments.
They say that in life, you don’t know what you’ve got ‘til it’s gone. That’s certainly true in sport, where perhaps we don’t give enough credit to all-time greats that are still actively playing.
England fans: in Harry Kane, you are witnessing perhaps the greatest ever player to pull on the iconic white shirt.