Harry Kane at FIFA World Cup 2022: Where does England's record-breaking captain rank among all-time greats?
Harry Kane equaled a historic England record by becoming England's all-time joint-top scorer with Wayne Rooney. But the Tottenham Hotspur marksman missed the opportunity to make even more history in Qatar.
Football
Harry Kane equalled Wayne Rooney's record on Saturday evening (10 December) and became England's all-time top goal scorer but it was a night to forget for the 'Three Lions' captain.
Kane levelled Rooney's mark of 53 goals by converting a penalty kick in the 54th minute of England's epic encounter with France in the quarter-finals at the FIFA World Cup 2022.
Olivier Girous gave France the lead again, before Kane had the opportunity to make more history when England were awarded another penalty.
Only this time, Kane's penalty kick flew over the top.
Read on to find out where this prolific goalscorer ranks among England's all-time greats.
Harry Kane: Clsoing in Wayne Rooney's England record
When Wayne Rooney broke Sir Bobby Charlton's record (49), that stood for 45 years, to become England's all-time leading goal-scorer, Harry Kane played alongside him after coming on as a second half substitute.
It was Kane who opened the scoring in that 2-0 win against Switzerland in 2015, but a Rooney penalty cemented his name atop of the leaderboard.
When the former Manchester United man was awarded a trophy for his achievement, he requested that England's current captain be the one to present him with it.
And that's because he believed at that moment, Kane would go on to surpass him as England's top scorer.
"When he [Rooney] said that and I went on a good run of scoring goals, I thought, 'Okay, maybe this is something I can achieve'," he said, recounting the story.
"The years go by so quickly and the games come and go, so to be around now is something I don’t take for granted."
Kane has gone on to be clinical for his nation over the years, and his strike against France marked 12 major tournament goals, the most in 'Three Lions' history.
While eight of those have come in World Cups, Rooney managed just the one goal in 11 appearances in comparison.
He did have better luck at the European Championships, however, netting six times to Kane's four.
With Euro 2024 just two years away, however, perhaps that's another one of Rooney's tallies that the Spurs captain can overtake... although it would take seven to equal Shearer.
Harry Kane: Domestic records
It is not just the international scene where Kane is closing in on Rooney's records, but he has been doing it domestically too.
The Spurs talisman has already surprassed his former England teammate when it comes to away goals in the Premier League.
A 2-0 away win against Brighton at the back-end of last season saw him overtake Rooney's record of 94 by one goal, making it 95 in 139 appearances.
In October 2022, the prolific striker reached the 100 club for away goals when he scored a first-half penalty away at the Emirates against rivals Arsenal in a 3-1 loss.
He's unlikely to stop there, however, with the all-time Premier League top scorer up for grabs.
Kane currently sits in third for most goals scored with 195, and is only 13 away from Rooney's 208 tally in second.
Alan Shearer occupies the top spot, having scored 260 goals during his career, which is certainly attainable for Kane if he keeps his form up.
Harry Kane's current records for club and country
With milestones well within his reach, Kane has already proven he has what it takes to smash records and overtake legends...
England
Kane may have broken a significant record while out in Qatar when he made it 12 tournament goals, but it is not the only time he has made history for his country.
On 12 November 2021, in front of a packed out Wembley Stadium, England thumped Albania 5-0. The 29-year-old was on hand to complete a first-half hat-trick - more notably a 'perfect' one, scoring a goal with each foot and his head. Days later, on 15 November, he bagged another four goals in the first 45 of a 10-0 hammering against San Marino. It took his total number of hat-tricks to five, one behind Jimmy Greaves' all-time total of six.
Kane's goal-scoring threat knows no bounds, proving time and time again that he is lethal from the penalty spot too. Of the 21 spot kicks he has taken for England, he has scored 17 - missing just four - earning a conversion rate of 84.3%. Among the company of Rooney, Frank Lampard and co, he holds the record for most penalties scored for his country.
Such form has seen him become the highest scoring English captain ever. His strike in their 2-1 loss to France was Kane's 45th goal while wearing the captain's armband, with the second closest - Vivian Woodward - being some way behind on 23.
In 2019, Kane equalled the most goals scored for his country in a single calender year when he netted 12 times. But two years later, he went on to break that by a single goal - meaning the new record now stands at 13 thanks to his fourth goal in the 10-0 rout of San Marino.
Tottenham Hotspur
It is not only his national team that has reaped the rewards of his fine form, but his club - Tottenham Hotspur - has seen first-hand just what he can do.
In 2017, Kane overtook England legend Shearer to become the man with the most goals in a Premier League calendar year - his number of 39 eclipsing Shearer's 36-goal tally that stood for 22 years.
His loyalty to Spurs has been unwavering over the years, and whether he sees his career out there or opts to play elsewhere, he will surely go down as one of their greatest ever players. As of right now, he has currently scored the most goals for a single Premier League club. His headed goal against Wolves to give Spurs all three points saw him go one ahead of now-retired Sergio Aguero on 185, a total that has since stretched to 195. It's not the first time the pair have been tied for something, currently leading the way for most PL Player of the Month awards received (7), which Kane could still yet overtake, too.
When he is on the top of his game, there are few that can lay a glove on Kane and his goal-scoring abilities. Whether it is internationally or domestically, he is inevitable.