Kane set for 100th cap – the numbers behind his success

Captain Harry Kane will become just the 10th man to make 100 England appearances when the Three Lions face Finland in the Nations League at Wembley on Tuesday.

The 31-year-old made his debut in 2015 and is his country’s all-time top scorer with 66 goals in 99 games.

BBC Sport takes a look at some of his numbers on his journey towards the landmark.

Bayern Munich striker Kane will become the first person since Wayne Rooney in November 2014 to earn a 100th cap for England.

Rooney went on to earn 120 caps, putting him second on the all-time appearance list behind former goalkeeper Peter Shilton (125).

The others to have surpassed the century of appearances are David Beckham (115), Steven Gerrard (114), Bobby Moore (108), Ashley Cole (107), Bobby Charlton (106), Frank Lampard (106) and Billy Wright (105).

“When you look at the list [of players with 100 caps] it is a list of some our greatest players,” Kane said.

“I’m sure when I’m retired I’ll look back on this with immense pride.”

It all started for Kane with a goal just 79 seconds into his debut.

Starting on the bench in a Euro 2016 qualifier against Lithuania in March 2015, a 21-year-old Kane came on with the Three Lions 3-0 up and headed in his first goal for his country.

Since then he has scored 46 more goals than any other England player. He has also provided more assists than any other player in that time with 17.

Of his 99 caps, 29 have come at major tournaments for England (11 at the World Cup, 18 at the Euros), more than any other player.

As well as being England’s record scorer, he also has the most goals for England at major tournaments, with 15.

Kane has scored five hat-tricks for England – against Panama, Bulgaria, Montenegro, Albania and San Marino. Only Jimmy Greaves has scored more with six.

His 99 caps have come under four different managers. He made his debut with Roy Hodgson as boss and played 16 times for him, scoring five goals.

Kane played in Sam Allardyce’s only game in 2016 before making 81 appearances and scoring 61 goals under Gareth Southgate.

He then started on Saturday in Lee Carsley’s first game in charge against the Republic of Ireland.

Asked about what has been the most difficult thing to be able to keep playing at the highest level, Kane told BBC Radio 5 live: “I think to be able to keep producing great numbers, keep producing great moments is probably the hardest thing to do, because there are many players who are trying to take your spot and to take your place.

“It is healthy to have that but to be able to get my 100th cap in nine years, essentially shows great consistency.”

Last week, Portugal great Cristiano Ronaldo reached the landmark of 900 career goals for club and country at the age of 39.

Kane is eight years younger than Ronaldo and the Bayern Munich striker says he sees the former Manchester United and Real Madrid forward as inspiration for how long his own career can go.

“I feel in really good shape, both physically and mentally, at a peak in my career,” he said.

“Watching other players, Ronaldo scoring his 901st goal [against Scotland on Sunday], seeing him compete at 39 years old inspires me to play for as long as possible.

“I love this game, I love representing England more than anything and I don’t want it to end any time soon. For me, personally, now it’s about continuing to improve and being consistent both in an England shirt and at club level.

“I’m hungry for more. I’m determined to keep pushing the boundaries.”

Former Premier League striker Chris Sutton believes Kane can continue playing for England for many more years.

“I can see him going very long for a number of reasons,” Sutton said on BBC Radio 5 live’s Monday Night Club.

“Look at England at the moment, who will take his place?

“He doesn’t have great pace but he is a ruthless goal scorer and a brilliant footballer. He creates and scores. He is so good at both. He can go on for years and years.

“With his intelligence and the way he plays I think he will be around for a long time yet.”

On Tuesday, Finland will become the 45th different country Kane has faced with England.

He has scored or assisted against all but 10 of the 44 countries he has played against, scoring the most against Germany with four goals in four appearances.

Kane has played against Italy the most, facing them six times and scoring three goals against them.

Should he score against Finland then he will become just the third player to score on his 100th England appearance, after Wayne Rooney (versus Slovenia in 2014) and Bobby Charlton (against Northern Ireland in 1970).

“We take advantage of him a little but with how good he is,” Conor Coady, who has played alongside Kane for England, said on the Monday Night Club.

“He is always out there for England. He is the first player to report for England, the first on training pitch

“Being able to train with him, see the quality he brings. I can see him going for plenty of years.

“I don’t think he will retire – or will want to [retire] – until England win something. He is such an important player for our country.”