Caps, goals and captaincy – Leytonstone's Harry Kane to become England's most capped player
Harry Kane will become England’s most-capped male player against Croatia on Thursday night.
The 33-year-old will win his 126th cap at a sold-out Wembley on Thursday evening as the striker moves clear of Peter Shilton, who will lead a special presentation before the Nations League fixture.
Kane’s special night will also see the England captain’s Ballon d’Or success recognised under the arch, having become the nation’s first winner of the award since Michael Owen in 2001.
Kane, from Leytonstone in east London, has taken just over 11 and a half years from his debut on March 27, 2015 to reach the 126-cap landmark.
The record was previously held by Peter Shilton who finished his 20-year England career with 125 caps.
The former goalkeeper was England’s second-longest-serving player behind Sir Stanley Matthews, whose international career spanned 23 years and was interrupted by World War II.
Kane has scored more goals for England than Shilton conceded, 91 to 80, a statistic that reflects well on both players’ careers.
Shilton made 80 competitive appearances and played 45 friendlies, compared to just 19 for Kane – though with those fixtures largely having been replaced by the Nations League since its introduction in 2018, Kane’s 27 appearances in that competition account for the difference.
Kane passed Shilton’s totals for appearances in the World Cup and qualifiers during the 2026 campaign.
He also became England’s leading World Cup goalscorer, with 14 to Gary Lineker’s 10, and his 18 appearances trail Jordan Pickford’s record by one.
He has the most England appearances at the European Championship, 18, and ranks alongside Alan Shearer with a record seven goals.
A 21-year-old Kane started his debut as he would go on, with a goal moments after coming off the bench against Lithuania.
He took 20 caps to reach 10 goals, scored 32 in his first 50 appearances and moved alongside Wayne Rooney’s previous national record of 53 with a penalty in the 2022 World Cup quarter-final against France.
After missing a second spot-kick which saw England eliminated, he had to wait until a Euro 2024 qualifier against Italy in March 2023 – his 81st cap – to break the record outright. Since that point he has 37 goals in a further 44 caps, with 2026 being the third time he has reached double figures in a calendar year after 2019 and 2021.
Kane’s 125 caps to date have brought 81 wins, 25 draws and 19 defeats for England, with Kane scoring 76 goals in the 80 wins and 15 across the other 44 fixtures.
He has five international hat-tricks, scoring his first against Panama at the 2018 World Cup. The others came in qualifiers for Euro 2020 against Bulgaria and Montenegro, and at the 2022 World Cup with three goals against Albania and four versus San Marino.
Kane’s goals include 26 penalties and his longest scoring run is six games, which he has achieved on three occasions. His longest scoreless run is seven.
Captaincy, team-mates and managers
Kane has started as England captain 88 times, three behind the record shared by Billy Wright and Bobby Moore.
Thomas Tuchel is his fifth international manager, with 81 of his caps coming during Sir Gareth Southgate’s long reign – Roy Hodgson, Sam Allardyce and interim boss Lee Carsley complete the list.
He has played in the same England side as goalkeeper Pickford on 84 occasions. Kyle Walker, Declan Rice and John Stones have each won 70-plus caps alongside Kane.
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