Harry Kane set to match England record as Thomas Tuchel praises striker’s relentless ambition

Harry Kane’s pursuit of goals and records has been central to his success at the highest level, England manager Thomas Tuchel says, as the Bayern Munich striker prepares to equal Peter Shilton’s appearance record.

Kane will win his 125th England cap when he plays against the Czech Republic at Wembley on Tuesday, drawing level with former goalkeeper Shilton at the top of the country’s all-time list.

The 33-year-old is already England’s leading scorer, with 89 goals. He added two more in Saturday’s 7-0 Nations League victory over Croatia.

His record-breaking career has also continued at club level. Kane became Tottenham’s all-time leading scorer with 280 goals before leaving for Bayern in 2023, and has since won two Bundesliga titles.

In September, he set another landmark by becoming the fastest player to score 100 Bundesliga goals, reaching the total in 98 league appearances.

Tuchel believes Kane’s constant desire to improve his numbers is one of the qualities that separates him from other strikers.

“I think all these number nines in the world, no matter in which league or in youth football, they are built a little bit differently,” Tuchel said.

“They not only do it so that their team wins, but they also do it for themselves, they do it for the records.

“How many can I score, how many can I assist, who is the best scorer in the league, who do I have to overtake, where is the next record?

“You will not find any goalscorer of this calibre who has not these individual goals set up and pushing him to the limit. So that is what drives him. That’s how Harry is built.”

Kane’s form has also put him among the leading contenders for the Ballon d’Or after another impressive year with Bayern and England.

Tuchel said Kane had developed further since taking on a leading role at the German club.

“I’m not sure if I have any more words, because I feel like he scores all the time, he plays fantastic and he’s in the shortlist for the Ballon d’Or,” Tuchel said.

“It’s just everything he does, he does it on the highest level, and he does it consecutively.

“Since he takes this major role for Bayern Munich, he found a new level, and it’s on and off the pitch highest level.”

England will be without Bournemouth midfielder Alex Scott and Arsenal defender Ezri Konsa against the Czech Republic after both players withdrew because of injury.

Scott made his first England start against Croatia but has a thigh problem expected to keep him out for about two months.

Tuchel defended the decision to select Scott despite concerns from Bournemouth.

“I can understand that Bournemouth are not happy because they lose a key player,” he said.

“But I can just say that from the moment we took the decision (to play him) there was absolutely no risk apparent to me or our physical staff. It’s a one-off.”

England are second in Nations League Group A3 with six points, three behind leaders Spain.