Harry Kane is set to make his 100th appearance for England. One superstar continues to inspire him
Harry Kane was inspired by Cristiano Ronaldo when he made his first steps in soccer and is now using the Portugal superstar as a motivating force almost two decades later.
“Just watching Ronaldo score his 901st goal yesterday, seeing him compete at 38, 39 years old, it just inspires me to play as long as possible,” Kane said Monday, a day before he becomes the 10th Englishman to reach a century of international caps.
To mark that milestone, Kane — England’s captain and all-time top scorer with 66 goals — will be presented with a gold cap before kickoff at the Nations League match against Finland at Wembley Stadium on Tuesday.
The Bayern Munich striker will be the first England player since Wayne Rooney in 2014 to get to 100 caps and, at 31 and still one of world soccer’s most lethal strikers, is on track to break former goalkeeper Peter Shilton’s record of 125 appearances for the national team.
Ronaldo’s numbers are in a different stratosphere, however. The five-time world player of the year took his goal tally for Portugal to 132 — a world record in men's international soccer — on Sunday by scoring a winner against Scotland in what was his 213th appearance, also a men's record.
Kane sees Ronaldo pushing the boundaries approaching the age of 40 and said it “motivates me to know I have many more years ahead at the highest level.”
“I think to have that hunger, desire and determination, almost a sense of keeping wanting to prove people wrong, prove to yourself that you can be the best you can be,” Kane said, “then whenever the day comes when you stop playing, you can be proud of what you’ve done.”
Kane believes his ability to drop deeper and play as a No. 10, instead of simply being an out-and-out striker like Ronaldo, could improve his longevity in the game.
He said he also feels rejuvenated playing under a new coach at Bayern – Vincent Kompany – who preaches a high-intensity style. That also happens to be the preferred approach of Lee Carsley, who has just taken charge of the England team on an interim basis and got his tenure off to a fine start with a 2-0 win in Ireland on Saturday.
“It’s all about intensity — football in general is becoming more and more that type of style where you have a lot of man-to-man pressure and one-vs.-one battles on the pitch and it’s something you have to be able to cope with,” Kane said. “It’s probably only going to get more physical and more tough as the years go on.”
Kane made his debut in a 4-0 win over Lithuania in March 2015, scoring just 79 seconds after coming on as a second-half substitute.
Nine-and-a-half years later, he has played in more games at major finals (28) than any other English male player and has played in more competitive matches (83) than any other senior men’s international.
Kane, who wore golden boots during a training session on Monday, will start against Finland and be captain for the 73rd time.
“I feel in really good shape. I feel physically and mentally at a peak in my career,” he said.
“I love representing England more than anything, and I don’t want it to end anytime soon. For me, it’s about continuing to improve and being consistent, both in an England shirt and at club level. Who knows how many caps I can get or how many goals I can get, but I am hungry for more."
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