Harry Kane marks a decade of wearing the England shirt this Thursday and has Peter Shilton’s impressive 125-cap tally in his sights. It seems like just yesterday when a youthful 21-year-old Tottenham forward with an eye-catching 29 goals under his belt that term burst onto the international scene. He marked his debut for England by finding the back of the net a mere 79 seconds into the match, a feat that took place on March 27, 2015.
Fast forward through 105 appearances since that dominant 4-0 victory over Lithuania, and Kane has become near indispensable for the national team. Should he feature in the upcoming World Cup qualifier against Andorra and the friendly with Senegal in June, he would only trail behind such illustrious names as Bobby Moore, Steven Gerrard, David Beckham, Wayne Rooney, and Shilton. A journey that spans 10 years, under four managers, across five major tournaments, leading to two finals, yielding 71 goals, and filled with a few close brushes with triumph – Kane is now looking ahead to a bright future.
Projected to still be spearheading England’s attack at next year’s World Cup, Kane could well be hot on the heels of Shilton. Acknowledging the lure of the cap record, he said: “It’s definitely there. I’ve made it clear I want to play for England as long as possible.
“The caps come round quick. Each camp comes round and before you know it you’re on another few, another five. Of course leading up to the World Cup, there are plenty of games before then and hopefully eight games in that tournament.
“To get 105 is special already. For sure, I want to a few more. It’s ten years this week since I first played for England. It’s been a great journey, a lot of ups, a lot of downs, we’ve been extremely close and it’s been a pleasure to be a part of that.
“Now it’s a new era, a new chapter and I’m even more excited that hopefully I’ll have more years here and we can have those special moments in this country to give the fans what we all so desperately want, which is to win a major trophy.”
To reach his goals, Kane – who turns 32 in July – will have to stay the course as football’s greedy authorities flog their thoroughbreds to the point of exhaustion.
For the second year running, Kane will not get a proper off-season to recharge the batteries because of the ludicrous and uncoveted Club World Cup.
But some time in the next six weeks, he should be fortified by breaking one of football’s unlikeliest barren runs and landing the first winner’s medal of his career.
Bayern Munich are six points clear at the Bundesliga summit and it would take a major collapse to deny the England captain an overdue taste of glory.
Kane said: “Of course it’s another summer where you don’t really have a break. If we get to the Champions League final, that takes us to May 31, and then you’ll almost go straight into England and straight on to Club World Cup.
“If we don’t get to the Champions League final, we have a little period before the international break, so I think it’s about trying to manage those moments.
“There’s nothing really we can do about it – you just have to try and talk to your coaches and try to get as much (down) time as you can when the opportunity arises.
“But ultimately, it’s hard to pick and choose. Playing for Bayern Munich is important, playing for England is important and everyone has goals they want to achieve. And as a player, you have to accept that.”
Amidst a demanding schedule, Kane has adapted his approach to maintain his fitness levels as he navigates through his prime years.
“As you play more and more games, and you get less and less rest, it is more about how you recover – food, sleep, ice baths, saunas, all the different one per cents that can help you'” he shared.
“It’s less about doing loads of weights and stuff in the gym because you don’t really have time. In the last four or five years, I feel like I’ve approached that in a good way and I’ve not missed many games, especially since I had my big hamstring injury.”
Following a positive England camp under Tuchel, it was no surprise that Kane joined chorus with the praises. Gareth Southgate would have faced a grilling had he delivered narrow 2-0 and 3-0 home victories against teams as modest as Albania and Latvia.
However, Harry Kane‘s assessment was in line with the team’s narrative, praising Tuchel’s dynamic presence and influence on the squad.
Kane disclosed: “Whether it’s watching other games in the lounge area or being around the boys a bit more, he wants to have the involvement, he wants to see the players all the time, how they are, how they are reacting.
“We saw more signs out there (against Latvia) of what he wants and that will just grow and grow.”
