Kane the centurion: The stats behind England captain's landmark

By Sports Desk September 10, 2024

On Tuesday, England captain Harry Kane became the 10th man to win 100 caps for the Three Lions, and he marked it in style.

He scored twice in a Nations League clash with Finland at Wembley.

Kane is England's record scorer, now with 68 goals for his country, and his latest accomplishment only cements his status as one of his country's all-time greats.

The Bayern Munich man has repeatedly outlined his desire to play on until his late thirties, and with the international game continuing to expand, he will surely fancy his chances of overhauling Peter Shilton's record of 125 caps in quick time.

As Kane joins an exclusive club of England centurions, we dive into the best Opta data surrounding his international career to date. 

Kane's road to 100

Kane may have had to wait until the age of 22 to win his first senior cap, but he wasted no time in making an impact upon his arrival on the international stage.

Just 79 seconds after replacing Wayne Rooney in the second half of a Euro 2016 qualifier versus Lithuania at Wembley, Kane headed home a Raheem Sterling cross to get off the mark for his country.

Since 1872, Kane is one of just six players to score inside two minutes on his England debut, while that strike made him the first to do so since Gerry Hitchens in 1961.

Kane's first start came in a friendly against Italy a few days later, and 87 of his 100 England outings have come when he was named in the starting lineup.

Eighty-one of Kane's caps were handed out by recently departed manager Gareth Southgate, the most won by any player during his eight-year reign, and 61 of his England goals also came under Southgate.

His tally of 29 major tournament appearances (World Cup/Euros), meanwhile, is the most of any England player in history, though he has so far fallen short of replicating Bobby Moore's achievements and hoisting a major trophy aloft as Three Lions captain.

Kane's goals

As well as being England's all-time record goalscorer, Kane has directly contributed to more goals (85 – 68 goals and 17 assists) than any other Three Lions player. 

He has now scored 27 goals at Wembley for England - he was already the team's record scorer at the national stadium prior to Tuesday's double.

Kane has been exceptional on the big stage, with his 15 major tournament goals (eight at World Cups, seven at the Euros) being an England record, while he also has more competitive goals than any other player in Three Lions history (60). 

It may come as little surprise to hear San Marino have been Kane's favourite opponent, the striker netting five times against the team sat at the bottom of the FIFA World Rankings.

However, Kane has been broadly consistent against all opponents, scoring against 31 of the 43 different teams he has faced on the international stage to date – more than any other player in England history.

As for Kane's bogey teams, he has faced Euro 2024 champions Spain and England's Euro 2016 conquerors Iceland most often without scoring, failing to net in four outings versus both sides.

Kane's results

Kane's international career has coincided with one of the most successful periods in England's history. The 31-year-old has won 62 of his 100 matches, giving him a 62% win ratio, with 21 draws and just 17 losses on his record.

He is also, of course, the only man to captain the Three Lions in multiple major tournament finals, leading them out in the showpiece games at Euro 2020 and Euro 2024.

That latter final in Berlin, while a disappointment for Kane as he was replaced by Ollie Watkins in the second half after a quiet display, also made him the first man to captain a senior England side in an overseas final.

While many feel Kane must fire England to silverware to truly be considered his country's greatest ever player, his international legacy is already a deeply impressive one.

And you get the impression there are still plenty more records waiting to fall Kane's way.

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