Vladimir Coufal has lost count.

The Czechia captain has lined up against Harry Kane several times for club and country, and he knows the pattern by now.

“I think in the last five or six games I have played against him, he has scored about 12 goals,” Coufal told UEFA after Czechia’s 3-0 loss at Wembley on Tuesday.

“His commitment for his country, his professionalism, his ability to score and create… he is the best striker in the world, so just big respect for him.”

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That verdict landed with awkward timing for the rest of the Ballon d’Or field. The 70th edition of the award is held at the London Palladium on Monday 26 October, and Kane goes in as the bookmakers’ favourite after a 73-goal season at Bayern Munich. If he wins, he would be the first Englishman to collect the prize since Michael Owen in 2001.

Bellingham: ‘unmatched’

Jude Bellingham spent 90 minutes next to Kane on Tuesday and reached straight for the superlative.

“First and foremost he is an unbelievable human being,” Bellingham said at Wembley.

“As a captain, as a man, he looks after every single person.”

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“It’s an honour to play with him. He’s playing at a level that is unmatched. He’s scoring goals for fun.”

Bellingham called his captain “an amazing role model” and added that “nothing he ever does surprises me”.

Shilton’s cap record equalled

Kane struck in the 40th and 57th minutes at Wembley and now has 91 goals in 125 caps for England, matching the men’s cap record Peter Shilton set. Coufal had already opened the scoring in the 27th minute by diverting a Kane cross into his own net, which was somehow the least costly contact the Czechia captain made with the England striker all evening.

At 33, Kane is the oldest player in England’s history to score a brace in consecutive appearances, according to OptaJoe’s post-match data, and he has six goals in his last four internationals.

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Denia’s praise from the losing side

Czechia head coach Santi Denia reached for similar words. The Spaniard said Kane “understands everything in the game” and told reporters that England supporters should be very proud of him.

The ceremony begins at the London Palladium on Monday 26 October.

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