Harry Kane equalled Peter Shilton’s record tally of 125 England caps when he stepped onto the field against the Czech Republic.
The England captain is already the country’s record scorer with 89 goals and added another record to that at Wembley in the Nations League.
Kane, 33, made his senior international debut in 2015 against Lithuania and scored a header within 80 seconds of replacing Wayne Rooney.
Since then he has built an extraordinary career with the Three Lions, reaching two European Championship finals and the semi-finals of the World Cup.
Shilton, meanwhile, said in a video message: ‘Hi, this is a message for harry Kane. Peter Shilton here. I would just like to congratulate you on equalling my caps record for England. And you will go on and beat it in November, I’m sure of that.
‘Maybe you will set a record that will never be beaten, because you are still going strong Harry, still playing well and scoring goals, and I know how much dedication and hard work you actually put into achieving this, especially as a striker.
‘I think that is probably the hardest position to play and goalkeeper is just behind that because of the responsibility.
‘You have been a great captain and will be in the future and obviously good luck for tonight, obviously it’s another game in the Nations Championship but I am sure we will get a good result.
Harry Kane has equalled Peter Shilton’s record of 125 caps for the England national team
He is the joint-seventh highest scoring man in international football of all time, though he has some ground to make up on record-holder Cristiano Ronaldo‘s 146.
His remarkable career with England would never have happened had he chosen to play for Ireland, where his father is from. As a child he paid regular visits to his dad’s homeland.
Kane has far outstripped the previous top scorer, Wayne Rooney, whose 53-goal tally he surpassed in 2023.
The Bayern Munich striker is also England’s record goalscorer at World Cups, having hit 14 to nearest rival Gary Lineker’s 10.
By this stage he is becoming synonymous with the word record and that’s not just in the scoring department.
He was the quickest player to reach 100 caps for England, blitzing to that stage in nine years, 167 days, from March 27 2015 to September 10 2024.
Incredibly, he has racked up a record 92 caps as England captain, a number which outweighs most players’ total number of caps.
Kane also has the most goal contributions at major tournaments, having bagged 21 times – a national record in itself – and provided four assists to tally 25 overall.
He scored inside 80 seconds of coming on for England on his debut against Lithuania in 2015
He replaced Wayne Rooney and scored within 80 seconds – and the rest is now history
He said on ITV prior to the game: ‘I think it is always special walking out now and seeing the stadium with the excitement of what’s to come. I try and not take it for granted – it is a special night tonight but we have to focus on the job.
‘I felt like I was waiting on the sideline for ages to come on for Wazza. It was just as I dreamt it – coming on and scoring and it was the start of something special.
‘I am extremely proud to represent and play for England. I have been lucky enough to do it a fair few times.
‘We have been extremely close to a trophy for a while now. I think we are closer than we have ever been. The team is in a good place, I’m in a good place.’
