England's captains in numbers: Kane extends record

Written by:

Jack Hyom

See which Three Lions captaincy record Harry Kane set against Croatia in November 2026

England captain Harry Kane has added to another longstanding record after being named as captain to face Croatia in the UEFA Nations League.

The forward already tops the all-time goalscorers chart, and he added to that by becoming England's most-capped player when he collected his 126th cap to usurp Peter Shilton's long-standing record of 125.

Earlier in 2026, Kane had also set a new record to become the men's player with the most caps as England captain.

Here’s everything you need to know.

Kane equals captaincy record

By featuring against Panama, Kane equalled a record jointly held by Bobby Moore and Billy Wright for the most caps earned as captain with 90.

Moore’s 90 caps as captain came from 108 overall appearances, while Wright played for England 105 times in total. Kane’s 90th game as captain arrived on his 117th cap.

The striker now surpasses that record with his 99th cap as captain against Croatia in the Nations League which was also his 126th cap to take him above Peter Shilton as the most-capped men's team player.

Most matches as captain

*Harry Kane: 99
Bobby Moore: 90
Billy Wright: 90
Bryan Robson: 64
David Beckham: 59
Steven Gerrard: 38
Alan Shearer: 34
John Terry: 34
Kevin Keegan: 31
Emlyn Hughes: 23

Marc Guéhi captained the senior team for the first time against Japan in March

Marc Guéhi is one of the other current internationals to have captained the Three Lions, becoming the 129th player to captain the England men's team when they faced Japan at Wembley Stadium on Tuesday 31 March 2026.

In doing so, the Manchester City centre-back became the sixth current player to captain his country.

But where does he rank among the youngest captains for England? Have any had the armband with fewer than Guéhi’s 27 caps?

Leadership beyond his years

Guéhi wore the captain’s armband in his 27th England appearance back in March, against Japan. Only eleven players since the Second World War have had the honour with fewer caps to their name.

Gerry Francis led the side out in only his fifth cap, when he was at Queens Park Rangers in 1975. The current players to be captain at an earlier stage were Kane, who struck a stoppage-time equaliser as skipper in a 2-2 draw at Scotland in June 2017 on his 18th cap, and Eric Dier, on cap 22, in November 2017 against Germany.

England captains with the fewest caps*

Gerry Francis: 5th cap, v Switzerland (September 1975)
Paul Ince: 7th cap, v USA (June 1993)
Bobby Moore: 12th cap, v Czechia (May 1963)
Billy Wright: 16th cap, v Northern Ireland (October 1948)
Sol Campbell: 16th cap, v Belgium (May 1998)
Kevin Keegan: 18th cap, v Wales (March 1976)
Phil Thompson: 18th cap, v Bulgaria (November 1979)
Harry Kane: 18th cap, v Scotland (June 2017)
Steven Gerrard: 22nd cap, v Sweden (March 2004)
Eric Dier: 22nd cap, v Germany (November 2017)
Bryan Robson: 25th cap, v Greece (November 1982)
Marc Guéhi: 27th cap, v Japan (March 2026)

*Since the Second World War

World Cup-winning captain Bobby Moore is the youngest player to have captained England

Guéhi became captain at 25 years and 261 days old, making him the 19th youngest in the post-War era.

Moore holds the record, captaining the side for the first of 90 occasions aged 22 years and 47 days. Michael Owen and Marcus Rashford take second and third place in this list.

Youngest players to captain England

Bobby Moore: 22 years 47 days
Michael Owen: 22 years, 124 days
Marcus Rashford: 23 years, 218 days
Sol Campbell: 23 years, 253 days
Gerry Francis: 23 years, 271 days
Eric Dier: 23 years, 299 days
Steven Gerrard: 23 years, 306 days
Harry Kane: 23 years, 317 days
Wayne Rooney: 24 years, 21 days
Raheem Sterling: 24 years, 180 days
Billy Wright: 24 years, 246 days
Kevin Keegan: 25 years, 39 days
Declan Rice: 25 years, 72 days
Ronnie Clayton: 25 years, 73 days
David Beckham: 25 years, 197 days
Johnny Haynes: 25 years, 211 days
Paul Ince: 25 years, 231 days
John Terry: 25 years, 252 days
Marc Guéhi: 25 years, 261 days

Harry Kane is the player with the highest number of caps as the captain

The current players to captain England

Guéhi is the sixth player from Tuchel’s squad selection in March to have worn the armband.

The former Chelsea, Swansea City and Crystal Palace defender follows Kane, Jordan Henderson, Declan Rice, Rashford and Harry Maguire in leading the team out.

Harry Kane: 99 caps
Jordan Henderson: 10 caps
Declan Rice: 3 caps
Marcus Rashford: 1 cap
Harry Maguire: 1 cap
Marc Guéhi: 1 cap