Harry Kane sets sights on Spain after becoming England’s most-capped men’s player

Harry Kane celebrated becoming England’s most-capped men’s international by scoring in a 2-1 victory over Croatia at Wembley, then challenged his team-mates to prove their progress against Spain.

The England captain made his record 126th appearance on Thursday, moving beyond former goalkeeper Peter Shilton. Kane also added to his national-team record by taking his international goal tally to 92.

The result secured Thomas Tuchel’s side a place in the Nations League quarter-finals and set up a meeting with Spain in Madrid on Sunday.

Kane’s landmark appearance was marked before kick-off by Shilton and the Prince of Wales, who joined those honouring the 33-year-old. The striker said the occasion had made for a “crazy few weeks” emotionally, physically and mentally.

“Of course it takes a lot out of you emotionally, physically and mentally,” Kane said after the match. “Breaking the record is a massive thing in the history of our game. Seeing the tifo there, having my kids with me, and being presented by all the people was beyond dreams.”

He said he had put the personal significance to one side once the match began, concentrating instead on leading England and fulfilling his role as their striker.

Kane was particularly pleased that the milestone was accompanied by a victory, having previously spoken about the importance of winning on such occasions.

“I’ve always said all these big milestones that I’ve had, when you win the game it makes it 10 times better and I’ve been lucky enough to win all of them, especially here at Wembley, so it’s nice to do it again,” he added.

England had beaten Croatia 7-0 away from home 40 days earlier, but Thursday’s match proved considerably closer. Their latest victory now gives them another chance to measure themselves against Spain, who extended their unbeaten run to 43 matches by defeating Czechia 2-0.

Spain beat England 3-2 in the reverse fixture in September, a result that has left Kane eager to demonstrate how much the team has developed since then.

“After the first game when we lost here against them, we knew we left a bit out there,” Kane said. “We said to ourselves, ‘Let’s win every game from now until the next one and see what happens’. It’s the perfect opportunity now to try and prove ourselves.”