MY ACCOUNT
It’s fair to say Harry Kane was something of a late bloomer on the international stage, at least in comparison to the man he has surpassed as England’s all-time leading goalscorer.
While Wayne Rooney was named in Euro 2004’s Team of the Tournament at the age of 18, Kane was 22 by the time he first appeared at a major international competition.
Despite Rooney’s head start, the prospect of Kane beating his record of 53 England goals has seemed inevitable for some time after the Tottenham striker took on a talismanic role for Gareth Southgate’s side.
Kane could have broken the record at last the 2022 World Cup. He had already scored one penalty in the quarter-final against France and, with England 2-1 down, he stepped up to take another at Al Bayt Stadium.
Yet his effort soared over, England’s chances of World Cup success crashing down around their captain.
Fitting, then, that it was from the penalty spot that Kane broke Rooney’s record by netting his 54th England goal, as he put the Three Lions 2-0 up ahead Italy in their first match of 2023.
He has now cemented his place in the pantheon of England greats.
With Kane assuming his place as the country’s greatest goalscorer, Stats Perform looks at the legacy he has built on the international stage.
Stepping out of Rooney’s shadow and repaying Southgate’s faith
Kane wasted no time in introducing himself on the international stage.
Having replaced Rooney as a substitute against Lithuania in March 2015, the Tottenham striker needed just 79 seconds to net in a 4-0 win.
Since 1872, Kane is one of just six players to score inside two minutes on his England debut, while that strike made him the first to do so since Gerry Hitchens in 1961.
However, after England’s dismal Euro 2016 exit at the hands of Iceland, Kane had scored only five goals in 17 international appearances. Retrospectively, it wasn’t quite the flying start one may have expected from a future great.
While Kane entered that tournament having won the Premier League’s Golden Boot, he was uninspired as Roy Hodgson sought to find space for both Rooney and Daniel Sturridge in an unbalanced team.
That stunning defeat in Nice, as well as a corruption scandal that later led to the departure of Sam Allardyce after just one game at the helm, made 2016 a year to forget for England.
However, the appointment of Southgate that November, coupled with the new manager’s decision to drop a declining Rooney the following March, set the stage for a dramatic improvement from the Three Lions’ new talisman.
All but five of Kane’s 54 international goals have been scored under Southgate, the highest tally scored by any England player under a particular manager by some distance – Gary Lineker is second with 35 goals under Bobby Robson.
The man for the big occasion
The idea that the England shirt can weigh heavily upon those who regularly star at club level has been a common theme for decades.
Of Rooney’s 53 international goals, for instance, only one was scored at a World Cup – an ultimately inconsequential effort in 2014’s decisive 2-1 loss to Uruguay in Sao Paulo.
The Manchester United great may have hit the net seven times across his six major tournaments, but four came in his remarkable breakout campaign at Euro 2004, and he was continually criticised for failing to carry his club form onto the international stage.
Rooney is not the only England star to suffer that fate. Frank Lampard scored three times at Euro 2004 but did not net at another major tournament. Fellow midfielder Steven Gerrard hit 21 goals for Three Lions, but just three came at tournaments.
Despite arriving at the 2018 World Cup having plundered 30 goals across the 2017-18 Premier League season – his most prolific campaign in the competition – Kane was seemingly open to the same criticisms, but a Golden Boot-winning tournament changed perceptions.
Kane as England’s tournament specialist
While defeats to Croatia in the 2018 World Cup semi-finals and Italy in the Euro 2020 final have left Southgate battling accusations of underachievement, England’s very presence in some of the biggest international fixtures has owed much to Kane.
Kane’s total of six goals in Russia was enough to see off the likes of Romelu Lukaku and Kylian Mbappe for the Golden Boot, and only Cristiano Ronaldo and Patrik Schick (both five) bettered his tally of four strikes as England went agonisingly close to Euro 2020 glory.
Having netted against Senegal and France at Qatar 2022, Kane’s tally of 12 goals at major tournaments is an outright England record, beating Lineker’s total of 10, which came exclusively at World Cups.
With Kane now having eight World Cup goals to his name and looking likely to participate in at least one more edition, the 29-year-old could also claim Lineker’s status as England’s top marksman in FIFA’s flagship tournament.
Nevertheless, some might accuse him of “stat padding” against weak opponents. After all, Kane has scored more international goals against San Marino (five) than any other nation.
However, he has also often been the scourge of the world’s elite, as England’s old rivals Germany – the opponents for four of Kane’s England goals – will attest.
Cementing Kane’s legacy: Does more history await in 2026?
Brazil great Ronaldo, Miroslav Klose, Mario Kempes, Gerd Muller and Eusebio are among the legends to have claimed the honour of top-scoring at a World Cup. None of them – nor any other player – has done so at two separate tournaments.
Kane ultimately could not repeat his 2018 exploits in Qatar. But in terms of other records and future success, age is – just about – on his side. The Spurs striker will be 33 when the 2026 World Cup rolls around. He will likely have set a daunting target for any future England strikers to chase.
Troubling Klose’s all-time record of 16 World Cup goals may be unrealistic but claiming a spot in the top five of that list – and beating Pele’s tally of 12 – appears a plausible target.
While Kane’s England legacy may be chiefly judged on whether he can inspire the team to bring football home for the first time since 1966, his international goalscoring feats are worthy of lofty praise regardless.
If Kane wins a major trophy during his England career or not, his contribution on the big stage means he should be remembered as one of his country’s best ever.
