England captain Harry Kane is expected to wear the Three Lions’ jersey for the 100th time in Tuesday’s Nations League match against Finland. The 31-year-old striker from FC Bayern Munich took his motivation and inspiration for his long and successful football career from another great in his profession: the Portuguese superstar Cristiano Ronaldo.
“Watching Ronaldo score his 901st goal yesterday, seeing him compete at 38, 39, just inspires me to play as long as I can,” said Kane the day before the game in London. Kane will be the tenth England international to reach the 100-cap mark. Before the match at Wembley Stadium, the record goalscorer (66 goals) will be presented with a gold cap.
International debut crowned with goal
At just 31 years old, Kane has a good chance of breaking former goalkeeper Peter Shilton’s record of 125 appearances for the England national team. “It motivates me to know that I have many years at the highest level ahead of me,” said Kane. Kane made his international debut in the 4-0 win against Lithuania in March 2015. He scored his first goal just 79 seconds after coming on as a second-half substitute.
Kane believes that new Bayern coach Vincent Kompany also contributes to the fact that he still feels young. Kompany preaches a high-intensity style of play. This is also the preferred approach of England’s interim coach Lee Carsley, who led his team to a 2-0 victory in Ireland on Saturday.
© dpa-infocom, dpa:240909-930-227771/1
This is a message directly from the dpa news channel.
