Leader, role model, extraordinary – how Kane’s ‘fairytale’ came true
Harry Kane has appeared 36 times for England at major tournaments (World Cup/Euros) – more than anyone else
ByNeil Johnston
BBC Sport football reporter
“It’s great when fairytales come true,” England boss Roy Hodgson said after 21-year-old Tottenham striker Harry Kane scored 79 seconds into his international debut back in 2015.
“Let’s hope it’s the start of a good and long England career for him.”
Eleven years on, Kane will make his 126th appearance for his country and become the most-capped men’s player in Three Lions history when England play Croatia in the Nations League at Wembley on Thursday (19:45 GMT).
Peter Shilton, who served England as a goalkeeper, won 125 caps between 1970 and 1990.
“It’s not about me – it’s about the team,” said Kane, scorer of 91 goals in 125 appearances for his country, about his landmark moment.
“I love coming to every England camp, I love playing every game and representing the country in the best way possible.”
Kane, 33, has gone through every emotion playing for his country.
He fought back tears after missing a penalty in the World Cup quarter-final defeat by France in 2022, and sang Wonderwall with fans following the win over Croatia at this summer’s World Cup – which he labelled one of his “favourite ever moments” in a Three Lions shirt.
London-born Kane is the boy who grew up in Chingford to captain his country, become England’s record goalscorer and win the 2026 Ballon d’Or.
Now the Bayern Munich striker stands on the brink of making more appearances than any other man in England’s football history.
“He wins the Ballon d’Or, and deservedly so, and in the next game for England he gets the all-time record with 126 matches,” England boss Thomas Tuchel said about Kane when announcing his squad last week.
“Thursday is a deserved occasion to celebrate an extraordinary player.”
Kane explains how his game has evolved
Kane: The England fan
Long before Kane made his first senior appearance for his country in a 4-0 Euro 2016 qualifying win over Lithuania at Wembley, he was an England fan.
Aged 12, he remembers the heartache of going out on penalties to Portugal in the quarter-finals of the 2006 World Cup under Sven-Goran Eriksson and failing to qualify for Euro 2008 under Steve McClaren.
“During most major tournaments we would go to the pub to watch England, with the beer garden and the screen,” said Kane.
“We loved England, we loved watching England and we were big England fans. I remember many tears being shed after we went out on penalties and things like that.”
Kane fell in love with football from an early age.
Aged five, he wrote about his ambition to become a footballer in a school project.
Weekends and holidays were spent playing football in his local Ridgeway Park with his dad Patrick and brother Charlie.
They would use trees as goalposts, with the two brothers taking turns to shoot while Patrick was in goal.
At the age of five, Kane wrote “I want to play football” in a school project
At Larkswood Primary School, Kane and his friends would play football in the playground – where they were only allowed to use tennis balls.
By then, the future England captain was playing for Sunday league team Ridgeway Rovers – whose former players included David Beckham, Kane’s idol growing up.
Former Manchester United midfielder Beckham, who won 115 England caps between 1996 and 2009, was playing for Real Madrid when Kane was at Chingford Foundation School.
“He had sent a Real Madrid shirt back to our secondary school,” added Kane.
“Seeing Beckham’s shirt hanging there growing up and knowing he grew up in the same surroundings as I did was a source of great motivation.”
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Image source, Getty Images
Image caption, 2015: Celebrating his first goal on his senior England debut against Lithuania aged 21
Slide 1 of 5, Harry Kane celebrates scoring for England on his senior debut for the Three Lions against Lithuania in 2015, 2015: Celebrating his first goal on his senior England debut against Lithuania aged 21
Kane: The leader
Wayne Rooney was England captain and Joe Hart was goalkeeper when Kane came on to make his Three Lions debut 11 years ago.
“My reaction when he first came into the England squad was: ‘Alright, who is this guy?'” Hart told BBC Sport of the young Tottenham striker called up after scoring 26 goals in 42 league and cup games in 2014-15.
“Then I was like: ‘Oh OK, he’s good! Then he kept coming back [into the England squad] and my reaction was: ‘Flipping heck, he’s getting better!’
“I went to Tottenham during Covid and it got to the point in training where he was that good that I wasn’t even diving for his shots. I was thinking: ‘I adore you, but you are frustrating the life out of me.'”
Kane has served five different England managers.
As well as Hodgson and current boss Tuchel, Kane won 81 of his 125 caps under Gareth Southgate, played for Lee Carsley when he was interim boss in 2024, and appeared in Sam Allardyce’s sole match in charge in 2016.
It was Southgate who recognised Kane’s leadership skills and handed him the England captaincy for the first time in 2017, even though Kane was not captain of Tottenham at the time.
“I want people with leadership qualities who are respected by the group, and capable of stepping forward at the right moments and handling responsibility,” said Southgate.
When he has started, Kane has captained the Three Lions 97 times – more than anyone else.
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Kane: The role model
How long will Kane carry on playing for England? More worryingly, who will lead the attack when he retires?
Despite individual awards and back-to-back Bundesliga titles with Bayern Munich, Kane has yet to inspire his country to a major trophy.
He will be approaching 35 when England, Scotland, Wales and the Republic of Ireland co-host Euro 2028.
“He aged, but he got better too, like red wine,” Lothar Matthaus, West Germany’s 1990 World Cup-winning captain, told BBC Sport.
Kane, who has had to adapt his game to stay at the top level, is certainly not ready to talk publicly about retirement dates while he is still only 33.
“From a physical point of view, I feel great,” he told BBC Sport recently.
“My numbers are as high as ever, and I’ve recently reached a new top speed in a game against Borussia Dortmund. I’m going to keep pushing and see what else is possible.”
A Madame Tussauds figure of Harry Kane with Peter Shilton and players from Ridgeway Rovers – the club Kane played for as a boy
Kane’s former Tottenham and England team-mate Hart added: “He’s never particularly relied on pace. It’s all about his thought process and his brain and how he calculates the game.”
The Three Lions have won 83, drawn 22 and lost 20 of the 125 games Kane has appeared in.
His 91 goals for his country include 58 with his right foot, 15 with the left and 18 headers, with three from outside the box. Twenty-six have come from the penalty spot.
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Kane’s rise from Leyton Orient loan signing to Ballon d’Or winner is well-documented.
His story – the model student and family man who married his childhood sweetheart and became an England great – serves as a reminder to pupils at his old school to never give up on their dreams.
He has not forgotten his roots – or the clubs that helped him on his pathway.
In 2020, Kane sponsored Leyton Orient’s shirt. The club’s home strip carried a message of thanks to frontline workers tackling the coronavirus pandemic.
Mental health charity Mind and Haven House Children’s Hospice also had their logos on Orient’s two change shirts as part of the deal.
“I was born and brought up only a couple of miles from Orient’s stadium and I’m really happy to have the opportunity to give back to the club that gave me my first professional start,” said Kane at the time.
“It also gives me a platform to say a big thank you to the many frontline heroes and charities out there who provide care and support during these challenging times.”
Matthaus, who has witnessed Kane’s impact at Bayern Munich, added: “He is a good person, a good ambassador, the captain of the English national team playing at a German club.”
On Thursday, England’s players and fans will salute Kane for breaking another record and making it 126 not out.
“He is superhuman,” added Hart.
The making of England’s Kane
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