Jude Bellingham has described Harry Kane as “the best England player to ever wear the shirt” after the captain matched Peter Shilton’s record of 125 appearances in a 3-0 Nations League victory over the Czech Republic at Wembley.
Kane celebrated the landmark by scoring twice and setting up England’s opener, taking his international total to 91 goals. Vladimir Coufal turned Kane’s cross into his own net before the Bayern Munich striker scored shortly before half-time and headed in Lewis Hall’s corner in the 57th minute.
“First and foremost he is an unbelievable human being, as a captain and a man,” Bellingham told ITV. “He is the best England player to ever wear the shirt and it is an honour to play with him. He is pretty unmatched. He is scoring goals for fun, he goes deep and he gets tackles in. He is only getting better.”
England manager Thomas Tuchel said Kane’s performance reflected the consistency he produces every match.
“It’s what he does,” said Tuchel. “I don’t take it for granted, it’s just exceptional every single match.”
Kane, 33, made his England debut at Wembley more than 11 years ago, coming off the bench against Lithuania in a European Championship qualifier and scoring 79 seconds later.
“It’s always special, even just walking out now and seeing the stadium, just the excitement of what’s to come,” Kane said before kick-off. “I try and never take it for granted. It’s obviously a special night tonight, but as always, we’ve got to focus on the job.”
He also hit the crossbar against the Czech Republic and has become England’s leading scorer and most-capped outfield player, surpassing Wayne Rooney in both categories. This past summer, Kane broke Gary Lineker’s England men’s World Cup scoring record, drawing level on 10 with a double against Croatia before moving clear against Panama and finishing the tournament with 14 goals.
Kane holds England records for major tournament appearances with 36, major tournament goals with 21, major tournament matches as captain with 32 and goals at Wembley with 31. He is now nine goals short of 100, a mark reached by only Cristiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi and Iran’s Ali Daei.
Shilton, whose record had stood since 1990, congratulated Kane on X.
“You will go on and beat [the record] in November, I’m sure of that, and maybe go on and set a record that will never be beaten,” he said. “Because you’re still going strong, Harry, still playing well and scoring goals, and I know how much dedication and hard work you’ve actually put into achieving this.”
Tuchel reached 20 wins in 26 matches, the quickest of any England manager, as his side dominated despite playing their fourth match in 11 or 12 days.
“It was a very good performance again and a deserved win,” he told ITV.
World champions Spain also secured a Nations League quarter-final place by beating Croatia 2-1 in Split. Ivan Perisic put Croatia ahead with a header in the 17th minute, but substitute Mikel Merino equalised in the 61st and scored again in the 89th after Perisic had been sent off for a second yellow card.
Spain’s unbeaten run now stands at 42 matches, stretching back to March 2024. Luis de la Fuente, who started five Barcelona players, said: “We knew that the match was going to get like this, but we’ve managed to understand it very well. We haven’t dropped our arms.”
Spain lead the group on 12 points, with England on nine, Croatia on three and the Czech Republic without a point. England have all but secured a quarter-final place.
Elsewhere, Slovenia beat Scotland 2-1 in League B1, while Switzerland defeated North Macedonia 3-0. Slovenia have seven points, Scotland four and North Macedonia none, while Switzerland lead the group on 12.
The final two group-stage rounds will take place during the November international break, with the top two teams in each of the four League A groups progressing to the knockout rounds in March.
