It’s that time of the season again… International break (part 1). Lee Carsley is set to take charge of his first senior England camp following the departure of Gareth Southgate, as the Three Lions get their UEFA Nations League campaign underway.

One player who will have had their sights set on this international break is captain Harry Kane. Should he feature against Ireland on Saturday afternoon, he will have the chance – against Finland on Tuesday at Wembley – to become just the 10^th player to reach 100 senior caps for England’s men’s national side, with Wayne Rooney the last player to reach this milestone back in 2014.

HOW IT ALL BEGAN

2014-15 was a breakout season at club level for Harry Kane. 33 goal involvements in 43 appearances (including three hat-tricks) saw him earn his first international call up for England’s Euro qualifiers in March 2015. His highly anticipated debut came against Lithuania and although he had to play second fiddle to Wayne Rooney and Danny Welbeck on the night, the 21-year-old was not fazed by the occasion and made an instant impact from the bench.

It took him just 80 seconds to find the back of the net, scoring with his first ever touch in an England shirt. Kane hasn’t looked back since, breaking a number of records while spearheading his nations attack for the best part of 10 years and he’s showing no sign of slowing down.

RECORD BREAKER

In March last year, Harry Kane scored his 54^th international goal, against Italy, and in doing so became England’s all time leading goalscorer, overtaking Wayne Rooney (53). His current total of 66 goals is 46 more than any other Englishman that is still currently playing at the top level (Sterling, 20) so it’s safe to say he will be holding this record for quite some time. He also has 15 goals for England at major tournaments (World Cup/Euros), at least five more than any other player (Gary Lineker, 10).

It’s been in qualifying where Kane has been at his most deadliest for England, scoring 40 goals in just 35 World Cup/Euro qualifiers, netting in 15 consecutive such games between October 2017 – September 2021.

Kane also holds the record for most penalty goals scored for England (excluding shootouts), with 33% of his international goals coming from the spot (22/66), a record previously held by Frank Lampard (9).

Overall, Kane has scored against 30 of the 42 opposing nations he has faced (the most of any player in England’s history), with his favourite opponent being San Marino (5 goals). Meanwhile, Spain and Iceland are the sides he has faced the most without finding the back of the net (4 games against each).

Harry Kane’s first England hat-trick came against Panama at the 2018 World Cup, since netting a further four, just one fewer than Jimmy Greaves (6). His most recent hat-trick came against San Marino in November 2021, becoming the first player to score 4+ goals in a game for England since Ian Wright in 1993 (also against San Marino).

Raheem Sterling is the player that has assisted Kane the most for the Three Lions, including his debut goal against Lithuania in March 2015.

Harry Kane has captained England 71 times in total, with only Bobby Moore and Billy Wright doing so more often (90 times each). Having made his international debut under Roy Hodgson (16 caps), appearing in Sam Allardyce’s only game in charge, and playing the most games under Gareth Southgate (81 caps), Lee Carsley will become Kane’s fourth manager at international level.

While that first elusive major trophy of his career continues to loom large, Kane’s desire to score goals doesn’t appear to be diminishing, scoring 36 goals in his debut Bundesliga season for Bayern (44 goals across all competitions).

Should he make his 100^th appearance for the Three Lions on Tuesday night, he will be writing himself into the history books once again, with Peter Shilton’s record of 125 England caps firmly in his sights.