Bellingham calls Kane England’s greatest-ever player after record cap milestone

Jude Bellingham has described Harry Kane as the greatest player ever to represent England after the captain equalled Peter Shilton’s record of 125 international appearances.

Kane celebrated the achievement with two goals and an assist as England defeated Czechia 3-0 at Wembley on Tuesday, a result which took Thomas Tuchel’s side closer to reaching the Nations League quarter-finals.

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

The Real Madrid midfielder also highlighted Kane’s qualities away from the pitch, praising his character and the work behind his success.

“He is an unbelievable human being, as a captain and a man,” Bellingham added. “Everything he gets, he deserves. He works so hard for it, and he’s a very honest guy.”

Kane, who turned 33 earlier this year, has scored 91 goals for England and will become the country’s outright record appearance holder the next time he plays. England are scheduled to face Croatia next month, when the Bayern Munich forward can move beyond Shilton’s total.

His performance against Czechia reinforced his importance to England’s hopes. Kane contributed to every goal, with his cross prompting Vladimir Coufal to score an own goal before Kane found the net twice himself.

“It’s right up there,” Kane said of reaching 125 caps. “This is even beyond my wildest dreams. To be joint at 125 is an extreme privilege. I love coming to every England camp. Tonight was a special night.”

The striker also insisted he had no plans to end his international career soon. Having returned from what he described as his best season, Kane said he believed he could remain at the highest level for several more years.

“I still feel like I’ve got room to improve,” he said. “I’m not going to stop. I’m going to keep pushing and see where it takes me.”

Kane has previously said he would give up his individual records in exchange for a major trophy with England, even as he continues to approach the leading international scoring milestones.

Bellingham believes England’s attacking threat is growing as the squad spends more time together. He has formed part of an increasingly effective forward group alongside Kane, Bukayo Saka and Anthony Gordon.

England have scored 12 goals without conceding against Czechia and Croatia during their current run, while also pushing world champions Spain before suffering a 3-2 defeat.

“With the longer camp, we have a chance to gel and bond and spend more time with each other,” Bellingham said. “Eventually it shows on the pitch.”