Harry Kane will make history tonight as he earns his 126th cap for England, surpassing Peter Shilton's record, just 17 days after winning the Ballon d'Or at the age of 33.
Kane, who captains England for the 98th time against Croatia, has scored 91 goals for his country and 73 for club and country last season, a tally that surpassed Cristiano Ronaldo's best-ever campaign and ranked as the second-greatest season of goalscoring in modern football history, trailing only Lionel Messi's 82 goals in 69 games in 2011-12.
From Mourinho's Doubts to World Recognition
Six years ago, Jose Mourinho sat with Kane in his office at Tottenham's training ground and explained the difference between the two men. Kane was 26, a reigning World Cup Golden Boot winner, but not considered truly world class outside England.
"I have no doubt: you are a winner," Mourinho said on his second day in the Spurs job. He felt that "the movie stars of football belong to other places" and that Kane was no superstar. "We have to build your status in that direction," Mourinho added.
Kane has since built that status himself through determination and relentless refinement of his craft, without needing Mourinho's help.
A Career of Consistency and Late Blooming
Kane's path to the top was not straightforward. Four EFL loan spells toughened up one of football's great late bloomers. In 2014, a 21-year-old Kane impressed in pre-season for Tottenham, but Mauricio Pochettino told him his body fat test result of 18 per cent was the highest in the team, urging him: "You can be the best striker in the world."
His repetitive training has made him a penalty specialist and a precise ball-striker. Anthony Gordon, his England teammate, said: "Anyone at this level can put the ball in the top corner. It's his consistency every single day in training and every game. He's having a season that has only ever been beaten by the greatest footballer of all time; that speaks to the level he is playing at. You want to pick up as many habits and watch everything he does, to see why he is at that level. It is no accident. Every drill, he does it with seriousness. He never ever messes about."
Awards and Continued Ambition
Kane's Ballon d'Or win, at 33 years and 90 days old, came after he scored his 14th World Cup goal this summer, overtaking Pelé at a quicker rate than Messi and Ronaldo. He has yet to win a Champions League title or a major trophy with England, despite two European Championship finals, two World Cup semi-finals and a quarter-final.
Last week, Kane signed a new contract at Bayern Munich believed to make him Europe's highest-paid player by base salary. Bayern's honorary president, Uli Hoeness, called him the greatest signing the club have ever made before May's German Cup final, in which Kane scored a hat-trick in a 3-0 win.
Kane's acceptance speech included a message for young fans: "Anything is possible with hard work when no one else is watching."
