Harry Kane stands one appearance away from becoming England's most-capped men's player of all time. If the captain features against Croatia at Wembley on Thursday night, he will win his 126th cap and move clear of Peter Shilton, whose record of 125 has stood since the former goalkeeper's international career ended at the 1990 World Cup.

Kane drew level with Shilton last month, when he played in England's 3-0 Nations League win over Czechia at Wembley on 6 October. He marked the occasion by setting up the opening goal and scoring twice, taking his England tally to 91 goals and making him the Nations League's top scorer with six. His 125 caps have come in just over eleven years, since a substitute debut against Lithuania in March 2015 in which he scored. He won his 100th cap against Finland at Wembley in September 2024.

A landmark week for Kane

The record would cap a remarkable few weeks for the 33-year-old. Last week he was named the winner of the 2026 Ballon d'Or, becoming the first Englishman to claim football's most prestigious individual prize since Michael Owen in 2001, ahead of Kylian Mbappe and Lamine Yamal. He has also signed a new contract at Bayern Munich, keeping him at the German club until 2029, and he is expected to show off his Ballon d'Or trophy at Wembley before kick-off on Thursday.

England head coach Thomas Tuchel has called Kane "extraordinary", and UEFA's preview of the Nations League fixtures highlights the captain as the man to watch on matchday five. Kane leads the race to finish as the competition's top scorer, and he has scored against 41 different nations for England.

England need a point

The match itself matters as well as the milestone. England sit second in Nations League Group A3 after four games, having won three and lost once, to Spain at Wembley. They thrashed Croatia 7-0 in Rijeka last month, and they need only one more point to secure a place in the knockout rounds in March. A draw on Thursday would be enough, before the group campaign ends away to world champions Spain in Madrid on Sunday.

Spain won 2-1 in Croatia on Tuesday to reach the quarter-finals with an 11-match winning run intact, underlining the scale of England's final group test at the Metropolitano Stadium.

Squad news

Tuchel named his squad for the double-header last week, with Jude and Jobe Bellingham both included, while Cole Palmer and Phil Foden missed out and Morgan Gibbs-White secured a place. Newcastle defender Dan Burn was called up on Monday to replace Marc Guehi, who has a hip injury, after the Crystal Palace centre-back was ruled out of both games.

For Kane, Thursday offers the chance to stand alone at the top of a list that has been led by a goalkeeper for more than three decades. Shilton's 125 caps were accumulated over a career spanning two decades; Kane would pass the mark in a little over eleven years, and as England's captain, record goalscorer and, now, a Ballon d'Or winner.