Bellingham calls Kane England’s greatest after record-equalling 125th cap

Jude Bellingham described Harry Kane as England’s greatest player after the captain matched Peter Shilton’s record of 125 appearances in Tuesday’s 3-0 Nations League victory over the Czech Republic.

Kane marked the occasion by scoring twice and setting up another goal, taking his international tally to 91 in front of the Wembley crowd. Vladimir Coufal turned Kane’s cross into his own net for England’s opener before the Bayern Munich striker added two goals.

“First and foremost he is an unbelievable human being, as a captain and a man,” Bellingham told ITV.

“He is the best England player to ever wear the shirt and it is an honour to play with him. He is pretty unmatched. He is scoring goals for fun, he goes deep and he gets tackles in. He is only getting better.”

England manager Thomas Tuchel said Kane’s performances had become so consistent that they should never be taken for granted.

“It’s what he does,” Tuchel said. “I don’t take it for granted, it’s just exceptional every single match.”

Kane’s landmark appearance came at the stadium where he made his England debut more than 11 years ago. He scored 79 seconds after coming on against Lithuania in a 2015 European Championship qualifier.

“It’s always special, even just walking out now and seeing the stadium, just the excitement of what’s to come,” Kane said before kick-off. “I try and never take it for granted. It’s obviously a special night tonight, but as always, we’ve got to focus on the job.”

The 33-year-old also hit the crossbar against the Czech Republic. He has surpassed Wayne Rooney as England’s leading scorer and most-capped outfield player, and broke Gary Lineker’s men’s World Cup scoring record this past summer. Kane moved level with Lineker on 10 goals with a double against Croatia before scoring against Panama, finishing the tournament with 14.

He holds England records for major-tournament appearances with 36, major-tournament goals with 21, major-tournament matches as captain with 32 and goals at Wembley with 31. Kane is now nine goals short of 100, a mark reached by only Cristiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi and Ali Daei.

Shilton, whose record had stood since 1990, congratulated Kane on X, saying: “You will go on and beat [the record] in November, I’m sure of that, and maybe go on and set a record that will never be beaten.”

Kane’s first goal came just before half-time from Morgan Rogers’ cross after Elliot Anderson’s long pass, while he headed in Lewis Hall’s corner at the back post in the 57th minute.

Tuchel reached 20 wins in 26 matches, the quickest of any England manager. “We played a very good match, very fluid,” he told ITV, adding that England had dominated throughout their fourth game in 11 or 12 days.

World champions Spain beat Croatia 2-1, with Mikel Merino scoring twice to extend their unbeaten run to 42 matches and secure a Nations League quarter-final place. Ivan Perisic gave Croatia a 17th-minute lead, but Merino equalised in the 61st minute before Perisic was sent off for a second yellow card. Merino completed the comeback in the 89th minute.

Spain lead the group with 12 points, England have nine, Croatia three and the Czech Republic none.

Elsewhere, Slovenia beat Scotland 2-1 and Switzerland defeated North Macedonia 3-0. Switzerland have 12 points in League B1, Slovenia seven, Scotland four and North Macedonia none.

The final two group-stage rounds take place during the November international break. The top two teams in each League A group advance to knockout rounds beginning in March.