Harry Kane tipped to reach 100 goals for England - but how many players have hit a century at international level?
Harry Kane just keeps on scoring as he looks to enter the history books...
Harry Kane is on fire at the moment, scoring his 21st goal of the season last night as England thrashed Latvia to secure qualification for next summer’s World Cup.
We’re only midway through October and Kane already has the kind of goal tally that many strikers would be happy to end the campaign with.
The 32-year-old has 11 goals in 6 Bundesliga matches for Bayern Munich, plus four in two games in the Champions League. For England, he has six goals from six games in these World Cup qualifiers.
We’re genuinely starting to have GOAT conversations about Kane, with Henry Winter posting on X after last night’s game that the former Tottenham man might be on course to extend this England goal-scoring record so far that it might never be broken.
The former Times journalist posted: “Will Harry Kane’s #ENG scoring record ever be broken? Goals 75 and 76 so far tonight. 1st from open play, 2nd from the spot, both clinical. Kane’s 32, in peak form, not reliant on pace, going to World Cup, debate over dearth of strikers. Is 100-goal landmark possible?”
At the moment, a Kane goal in any game feels about as consistently reliable as a same day payout casino, but would you bet on him eventually hitting a century of goals for the Three Lions?
It’s worth remembering that this has only been achieved three times in the history of the men’s game, and yes, two of those are Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi.
Ronaldo leads the way with 143 goals (and counting) for Portugal, while Messi has 114 for Argentina, which will also surely go higher, even if he’s probably not quite going to match his old nemesis.
The third player is Ali Daei, who scored 108 goals in 148 caps for Iran between 1993 and 2006.
Who else could hit 100 goals for their country?
Kane is on fire right now, but there are a couple of other active players that might get to 100 goals for their country first.
Romelu Lukaku is just 11 goals away from that feat, with 89 goals in 124 caps for Belgium, while Robert Lewandowski isn’t too far behind with 87 goals in 161 caps for Poland.
Going down a bit further, Erling Haaland is on a frankly ridiculous 51 goals in 46 caps for Norway. Still only 25 years of age, he’s got plenty of time to enter into this conversation before too long, so keep an eye on him as well.
Still, there’s no doubt that Kane is really establishing himself as a modern great, and, like Ronaldo and Lewandowski, he seems like he’s only getting better with age, potentially like someone who could play on until his late 30s and perhaps even to the age of 40 like CR7.
Kane's consistency at 32 is exactly what seperates him from other strikers. The fact that hes not reliant on pace means his game can age better than most. Lewandowski and Ronaldo proved you can keep scoring internationally well into your late 30s if you adapt your playstyle. The 100 goal mark is absolutely reachable for Kane, especially since England play a high volume of qualifiers and friendlys compared to some nations. His conversion rate is insane right now. If he stays healthy and keeps playing for England past the next World Cup, we could be looking at someone who retires with 110 or even 120 goals.