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Harry Kane scores 54th England goal to break Wayne Rooney's record in 2-1 win against Italy

Kane's penalty takes him past Wayne Rooney and onto a record 54 international goals; England captain's goals compared to top scorers; strike-rate by calendar year, locations on the pitch; penalty placement; favourite opponents and day of the week

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Harry Kane smashed the all-time England goal record after converting a penalty in the 2-1 win against Italy on Thursday - but how did he reach the milestone?

The 29-year-old extended his international haul to 54 goals to edge past Wayne Rooney in the record list - reaching the milestone in 39 fewer games than the current DC United manager.

Kane hit the landmark after just 81 appearances for England, compared with Rooney's 120 run-outs at international level - equating to a goal return of 0.67 and 0.44 goals per appearance, respectively.

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Harry Kane reflects on a memorable night as he became England's all-time record goalscorer with his 54th goal in the win against Italy

Speaking after the game, Kane said: "I was on the pitch when Wayne broke the record and I know what it meant to him and how proud I was. When I presented him the boot for breaking the record, he said he'd be giving it back to me one day. He's a special guy, and England legend."

Last year, Kane scored only five goals on the international stage - having improved his annual hauls in four of the previous five years - bar 2020, when Covid-19 wreaked havoc on schedules.

Kane has netted an equal share of goals on home soil and on opposition turf, while scoring another 12 on neutral territory. Despite being renown for speculative and spectacular efforts, Kane has scored 52 of his haul from inside the box - with only two shots from range finding the back of the net.

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Gareth Southgate says it was an 'historic moment' for 'outstanding' Harry Kane, after the England captain became his country's record goalscorer

The Tottenham striker has netted more goals with his head (nine) than with his left boot (six) - having scored the vast majority (39) with his favoured right foot.

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The graphic below shows the location of every single goal and reveals a balanced spread of successful strikes - almost exclusively fired from the central third of the opposition box.

Of course, Kane is England's first-choice penalty-taker and 18 of his record-breaking returns have come from 12 yards, having missed only four spot-kicks during his entire senior international career - which includes his wild effort during the 2-1 defeat to France in the 2022 World Cup quarter-finals.

The map below reveals his tendency to aim penalties to the goalkeeper's right-hand side or down the middle - but Kane fired to Gianluigi Donnarumma's left on Thursday to hit his milestone.

England's Harry Kane celebrates after scoring against Germany

Kane's favourite opponents are San Marino - ranked rock-bottom in the FIFA world rankings at No 211, having netted five goals against the European minnows - with four of those coming during the 10-0 thrashing in 2021.

That game helped contribute to his 17 goals in the European World Cup Qualifiers, but Kane is now merely one goal shy of that total in Euro Championship Qualifiers and has scored another eight goals on the ultimate stage, at the World Cup.

Kane has also collected a quirky, complete collection of goals from every day of the week, netting the majority on a Saturday (11 from 15 games). By ratio, his most prolific days are Thursdays and Mondays.

You can use the interactive table below to filter or search through all of Kane's 54 goals, going all the way back to his very first in an England shirt against Lithuania in the European Championship Qualifiers back in 2015.

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