Kane four games from becoming England's most-capped player ever

Four games. That's the distance separating Harry Kane from becoming the most-capped player in the history of the England national team. And the striker himself admits it's still hard to wrap his head around.

England's captain arrives at this October window with 121 caps to his name, just as a four-match schedule kicks off with a fixture that carries plenty of weight: Saturday's Nations League clash with Spain. If Kane plays in all four matches, he would match Peter Shilton's mark of 125 caps on October 6, against Czechia at Wembley. Shilton played his final England game at the 1990 World Cup.

For the Bayern Munich forward, England's all-time leading scorer, the number still feels almost unreal.

It's hard to take in. I've talked before about how difficult it is, as a player, to process the moments you go through and the records you break. But as a kid the dream was simply to play for England; being the most-capped player never crossed my mind back then.Harry Kane

Kane also looked back on the journey with the team, one that in recent years has carried England to finals that once seemed out of reach.

The journey has been incredible up to this point, and we've achieved so much as a team and individually too, reaching finals and taking the national team to a level it hadn't seen in a long, long time. Being four games away from becoming the most-capped player in history is just incredible, and I hope I can play those four matches and then, in November, break the record.Harry Kane

Kane belongs to a small club: only 10 players have reached a century of caps for England. And that's where the captain himself raises a question he can't quite answer. Compared with other national teams, England's ceiling looks low. Cristiano Ronaldo has racked up 233 caps for Portugal, the highest total in the world, while Lionel Messi and Luka Modric have also passed 200 for their countries. Even former Tottenham teammates of Kane's, such as Christian Eriksen, Jan Vertonghen and Ivan Perisic, have already gone past 150 caps.

Why doesn't England go further?

It's the question Kane himself puts out there, without quite having the answer.

It makes you wonder why this happens with England. Is it something cultural? Is it a mentality thing? Is it maybe the pressure from outside? Why haven't some of our great players reached those 160, 170 or 180 caps that players from other national teams have reached? From my point of view, it will be an honor, but at the end of the day there's still a long way to go and I hope I can add a lot more games. It will be a special occasion, something that goes even beyond what I dreamed of as a kid.Harry Kane

Before thinking about records, there's an early final waiting at Wembley. England host the reigning European and world champions, and Kane doesn't shy away from the size of the challenge.

We're playing against the reigning European champions and the reigning world champions, so there's no tougher opponent right now. But ultimately, if we want to become Nations League champions or European champions in a couple of years, we're going to have to beat teams like Spain or Croatia, the big powers. It's good for us to test ourselves, to test the group.Harry Kane

After Spain come away trips to Czechia and Croatia, the other major opponent of this cycle. A demanding schedule that, along the way, could end up writing a new page in England's history.