Pundit believes England captain Harry Kane can reach exclusive milestone headlined by Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi
Former Liverpool forward and England international Emile Heskey has tipped Bayern Munich striker Harry Kane to join Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi in a special list: players with 100 international goals. Heskey reckons Kane can achieve the remarkable feat if he keeps up with his impressive goalscoring form.
Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi are two of the three players with 100 or more international goals. The Portuguese icon holds the record for the most goals scored in men’s international football at 135, while his Argentine rival sits behind him with 112 goals.
England captain Harry Kane, however, is quite far behind right now. He currently has 69 international goals to his name. However, he is currently 31 and could still have some years to close the gap. When Heskey was asked if the Bayern Munich man could join Cristiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi, and Ali Daei in the 100 international goals club, he said (via GOAL):
“Why not? He’s a goalscorer, that’s what he prides his game on – getting goals. A lot of people say he’s got to do this and this, but when your numbers stack up the way that his do, you kind of look past a lot of it.
“When you look at the way that he plays, and it’s about looking after your body – if he can have the right diet, the right rest, which is a key thing when you look at the amount of games and the intensity of the games, the key thing is can he get enough rest and get recuperated for the next game. He’ll be fine. I played to 38, it wasn’t at that level as I was in the Championship – which is actually quite relentless with Saturday-Tuesday-Saturday-Tuesday – but he’ll cope fine.”
Heskey sees no reason why Harry Kane cannot be part of England’s squad for Euro 2028. The former Liverpool forward added:
“No, I don’t think there’s a reason why he can’t do that – as long as he keeps himself fit. Again, I don’t think by that stage he will be the number one, with the likes of Ollie Watkins really putting the pressure on now and being a bit more mobile, but I still think he has got a lot to offer. Right now, he’s the main man.”
Harry Kane bemoans the current lack of traditional no. 9s and credits it to Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo era of dominance
Last month, Harry Kane spoke about how young footballers of this era have been influenced to become wingers rather than strikers. Kane acknowledged the longevity of Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo in the sport, but claimed it pushed young players away from becoming strikers.
Kane spoke to TNT Sports Brazil ahead of Bayern Munich’s Champions League clash with Paris Saint Germain (PSG):
"The game is changing a little bit. The way coaching is now [means] a lot of players grow up wanting to be wingers. I think [Lionel] Messi and Cristiano [Ronaldo] dominated for a long, long time playing off the wings. I think a lot of players wanted to watch them.
"When I was growing up, I had some of the best strikers in the world [to watch], so I wanted to be a No. 9. That’s just the way football goes. I think, tactically, some managers play with a false nine, or a nine-and-a-half/10 position.
He added;
"It’s a shame because, ultimately, I think scoring goals is the hardest thing in football, so I would like to see more No. 9s coming through, but over the years you’ll see it come and go. But for sure, when I was growing up at No. 9 there were some incredible players."