Harry Kane becomes England’s most-capped player as list of top five confirmed

Harry Kane became England's most-capped player when he won his 126th international cap during England’s UEFA Nations League 2026-27 match against Croatia at Wembley on Thursday. The Bayern Munich forward converted a penalty after Jarell Quansah won the spot-kick as England secured a 2-1 victory.

Before kick-off Kane was honoured by Peter Shilton, whose long-standing record he overtook; Prince William presented a commemorative shirt bearing the number '126' and Kane paraded his Ballon d'Or in front of the Wembley crowd.

Kane also remains England’s all-time leading goalscorer and holds the record for the most goals in major tournaments, and he is the first English player in 25 years to win the Ballon d'Or.

Peter Shilton made 125 appearances for England between 1970 and 1990, played 17 matches at FIFA World Cup final tournaments and kept a clean sheet in 10 of those games, and he held the national appearance record for a long time; he is widely considered to be the greatest English goalkeeper of all time.

Wayne Rooney finished his England career with 120 international appearances and 53 goals, represented his nation in three FIFA World Cups and scored a solitary World Cup goal; his final appearance came in November 2018 in a charity match against the United States.

David Beckham won 115 caps between 1996 and 2009, scored 17 goals and registered 42 assists, was sent off against Argentina during the 1998 FIFA World Cup and scored the free-kick against Greece that sent England to the 2002 World Cup.

Steven Gerrard earned 114 caps from 2000 to 2014, captained England 38 times, played in three FIFA World Cups and finished his international career with 21 goals and 23 assists.

The top five appearance-makers for England now read: Harry Kane 126, Peter Shilton 125, Wayne Rooney 120, David Beckham 115 and Steven Gerrard 114.