Harry Kane is scheduled to become England's most-capped men's player when he leads the team against Croatia at Wembley in the UEFA Nations League on Thursday, weeks after winning the Ballon d'Or.

Kane would earn his 126th cap, passing former goalkeeper Peter Shilton, whose record of 125 appearances dates to 1990. The match begins at 19:45 GMT.

The England captain already holds the national scoring record with 91 goals and has led the side more times than anyone else. His Ballon d'Or win at the London Palladium in October made him the first English recipient in 25 years.

Journalists applauded Kane when he entered England's news conference Wednesday, footage from Sky Sports showed.

"Him as a whole, he's just a true great captain," England defender Jarell Quansah told the BBC, as Agence France-Presse reported.

At the news conference, held at Tottenham, Kane said he would welcome working with Middlesbrough striker Will Lankshear if he reaches the senior England team. He said a call-up was a decision for England manager Thomas Tuchel.

"There's a lot of talk about who is going to replace me when I'm not here anymore," Kane said. "Just let him do what he is doing and I think it is great for his development."

From loans to Bayern

Kane spent time on loan at Leyton Orient, Millwall, Norwich City and Leicester City before establishing himself at Tottenham.

"Every manager I loaned him to, not one of them said he'd be a player," former Tottenham manager Tim Sherwood said in September 2026.

Ridgeway Rovers chairman Ian Marshall told ESPN earlier that a parent did not recognize a 17-year-old Kane when he presented trophies at the club. "At the end of the presentation, I was thanking Harry for coming along and I said: 'If you haven't heard of him, his name is Harry Kane,'" Marshall said. "I should have dropped the mic then."

Kane needed 79 seconds to score after coming on for Wayne Rooney in his England debut against Lithuania in March 2015.

Bayern Munich signed him from Tottenham for €120 million in August 2023, and Kane has scored 156 times for the German club since.

His first career trophies followed as Bayern won the Bundesliga in 2025 and 2026.

Tuchel was Bayern's manager when Kane joined and now coaches him for England. "In the end, with hindsight, because we are all smarter, it seems to have brought out the very, very best in him," Tuchel told ESPN earlier.

World Cup frustration

England placed third at the 2026 World Cup, their men's team's best finish since its 1966 tournament victory. Argentina struck twice late in July's semi-final to overturn England's 1-0 lead after Tuchel packed the defence, AFP reported.

Kane made his frustration with those tactics clear and was said to have led the squad in talks with Tuchel before the September international break, according to AFP.

Kane has said the semi-final defeat hurt more than his missed penalty against France in Qatar in 2022, when England lost their World Cup quarter-final 2-1. He has also captained England in two European Championship final defeats.

The Sporting News concluded that Bobby Charlton is probably still slightly ahead of Kane as England's greatest player, citing his role in the 1966 World Cup victory. Charlton earned 106 caps.

Kane has said he would exchange all his individual awards for a major international trophy.