England captain Harry Kane has admitted that he draws inspiration from Cristiano Ronaldo to maintain his fitness and extend his career for as long as possible, leading up to his 100th cap for the Three Lions.
Ronaldo scored the 900th goal of his career in Portugal's 2-1 victory over Croatia last Thursday and moved on to 901 three days later, netting Os Navegadores' late winner against Scotland on Sunday.
The five-time Ballon d'Or winner is widely considered one of the greatest footballers of all time, having achieved success throughout his career, while smashing numerous records along the way.
At 31, Kane has earned several individual honours himself in his career, but he has yet to translate that success into a major club or international trophy.
In his debut season at Bayern Munich, the England skipper emerged as the top scorer, but it coincided with Bayer Leverkusen ending the Bavarians' decade-long dominance in the Bundesliga.
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Kane expresses admiration for Ronaldo following 901st career goal
Despite his lack of silverware, Kane remains determined to emulate Ronaldo, expressing before England's Nations League match against the Republic of Ireland, that he aspires to follow in the footsteps of the Portuguese legend.
He said: "Watching Ronaldo score his 901st goal aged 39 inspires me to play for as long as possible. I love representing England more than anything and I don't want it to end any time soon.
"It's just about continuing to improve and be consistent. Who knows how many caps or goals I can get but I'm hungry for more.
"I try to use different players to motivate me. To score over 900 goals in your career is an exceptional record, to play until the age he is is really inspiring," Kane added.
When a reporter mentioned that Ronaldo has remained a striker rather than dropping deeper as he has aged, Kane responded by saying: "I've always been someone who can play high or drop deep. I've got enough of an all-round game to be effective in both areas."
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Kane set to join elite group of England legends
Kane will become the 10th player to earn 100 caps for England provided he features when the team face Finland on Tuesday, and the first to do so since Wayne Rooney achieved the milestone a decade ago.
The record for the most appearances by an English player belongs to Peter Shilton, who has 125 caps to his name, five more than Rooney, while he is also the only goalkeeper to reach the century mark for the Three Lions.
Behind Shilton and Rooney are David Beckham and Steven Gerrard with 115 and 114 respectively, while the remaining centurions include Bobby Moore, Ashley Cole, Sir Bobby Charlton, Frank Lampard and Billy Wright.
Kane has captained England in 72 of his 99 career matches and has scored 66 goals while providing 17 assists since his debut in March 2015 aged 21.
Devesh Jaganath
