England captain Harry Kane has made more appearances in major international tournaments than any other player in the country’s history.
When Kane was named in the starting XI for England’s narrow Euro 2024 win against Serbia on Sunday night, it tipped the Bayern Munich striker onto 23 games at this level.
His 22nd had come in 2022 when he missed a penalty during England’s World Cup quarter-final defeat at the hands of France, which tied the previous record jointly held by Ashley Cole and Raheem Sterling. But Kane now stands on his own ahead of every other Three Lions player.
It wasn’t a vintage performance from Kane against Serbia, sadly limited in terms of his touches as he tried to stick to being a ‘number nine’ focal point rather than getting involved in deeper build-up play. But, come the end of this European Championship, Kane and every England fan would love him to extend the record to 29 should Gareth Southgate’s team return to the final.
Another appearance record tumbled for Kane on Sunday as he also topped England’s all-time European Championship list, moving onto 12, one ahead of Gary Neville.
A third record saw him also become England’s first captain at four different major tournaments, having previously worn the armband at World Cups in 2018 and 2022, as well as Euro 2020. David Beckham captained England at three tournaments (2002, 2004, 2006), as did World Cup-winning skipper Bobby Moore (1966, 1968, 1970) and Bryan Robson (1986, 1988, 1990).
Having once been courted by the Republic of Ireland, Kane was handed his senior England debut by Roy Hodgson in 2015 in a qualifier against Lithuania – he scored 80 seconds after coming on.
He made his first European Championship appearance in the summer of 2016, before being named permanent captain by Southgate ahead of the 2018 World Cup – he had first captained the national team as early as June 2017 at the age of just 23.
Kane became England’s first World Cup Golden Boot winner in 32 years in 2018 when he scored six times to match Gary Lineker’s achievement from 1986. In March 2023, he scored his 54th England goal to overtake Wayne Rooney as all-time top scorer.
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