Jude Bellingham called Harry Kane England’s best-ever player after the captain equalled Peter Shilton’s record of 125 caps during Tuesday’s 3-0 win over Czechia in the Nations League.
Kane, who is only nine off a century of international goals after scoring twice in another fine display, was the star attraction as the Wembley crowd watched Thomas Tuchel’s side close on a spot in March’s quarter-finals. England’s record goalscorer showed why he is in the running for the Ballon d’Or and the way the Bayern Munich striker passed another milestone earned him rave reviews from Bellingham.
“There’s not much more you can say that hasn’t already been said,” the midfielder said. “From my perspective first and foremost he is an unbelievable human being, as a captain and a man.
“He is the best England player to ever wear the shirt and it is an honour to play with him. He is pretty unmatched. He is scoring goals for fun, he goes deep and he gets tackles in. He is only getting better.”
Kane, who made the opening goal when he crossed for Czechia’s Vladimir Coufal to put into his own net, said making his 125th appearance for his country goes down as one of the biggest achievements of his career.
“I think it’s right up there,” the 33-year-old said. “There are so many milestones throughout your career. This is even beyond my wildest dreams. To be joint at 125 is an extreme privilege. I love coming to every England camp. Tonight was a special night. It’s not about me, it’s about the team. To help the team with a couple of goals and a good team performance, it’s been the perfect night for me.”
The former Tottenham forward will break Shilton’s record when England, who are second in Group A3 with two games left, host Croatia next month. He has no intention of slowing down.
“I’m not going to be around for ever and I still hope that’s a long way away,” Kane said. “I hope there’s still more to go. I guess only time dictates that. I still feel like I’ve got room to improve.
“I’ve just come back off my best season ever and right now I feel in an even better place. I’m not going to stop. I’m going to keep pushing and see where it takes me. Maybe in 10 years or so, we’ll see where that ceiling is at.”
Kane, who made clear that he would swap all of his individual accolades for a major trophy with England, laughed at the thought of chasing down the overall record of international goals: Cristiano Ronaldo’s tally of 146 for Portugal.
“Maybe that’s the ceiling we’re talking about,” he said. “We’ll see … it’s 50 odd goals, an awful long way away, but who knows? I’m in great shape.
“I’ve said before about players who have played well into the late 30s, still at the highest level, and even into the 40s. As long as I feel I can help the team I’ll be around. The moment I feel like I can’t, I won’t. That’s just the way I am.”
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Kane also thought about whether the appearance record matters more than reaching 100 goals.
“I got asked this question by a few of the staff before the game,” he said. “The 100 goals is maybe a more exclusive club and being a striker, it would be an incredible club to be a part of.
“Obviously I’m getting closer to the 100 now. I’m in the 90s. I try not to think about it too much. It’s like being a cricketer in the nineties – the more you think about the 100, you don’t always get there. I’m just going with the flow right now.”
Tuchel, who said that Kane “deserves the stage, the praise”, feels that England have progressed since finishing third at the World Cup. “I think it’s necessary to move on,” the manager said.
“We didn’t go out in the group stage – it sometimes feels like that but we didn’t. There were some question marks but we are trying to build something. When there was a bit of criticism, I said we don’t start completely new because we can build together. Now we take the next step.”
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