Terry Butcher sees some of World Cup-winning captain Bobby Moore in Harry Kane and has backed England's record-breaker to lead the nation to long-awaited glory at Euro 2028.
The 33-year-old's Ballon d'Or triumph was celebrated along with the feat of becoming the most capped Englishman in history on Thursday, when his spot-kick sealed a 2-1 win against Croatia in the Nations League.
Former England captain Butcher was among those in attendance at Wembley as he collected his legacy cap and is in awe of current skipper Kane, whose standing he likens to 1966 hero Moore.
"I think he is terrific," he told the Press Association. "He's playing some of the best football of his career now. He's relaxed, he's fit, he looks strong, he's got a fantastic attitude. He's looked after by really nice people.
"He lives the right way, behaves the right way, plays the right way. He's a model professional. For me, he just resembles Bobby Moore in terms of how people look up to him.
"He is a different type of player to me, he's a striker, and I was a centre back and most people prefer someone at the back or in midfield to be captain, but he leads by example.
"He does the right things and he's someone that has a strong mentality. He's someone that wants it and well respected.
"He's still got life in him, we still want him to get more caps, we still want him to get more goals.
"The World Cup might be just too far away, but the Euros are certainly within the realms of possibility that he can captain England there. I certainly hope so."
England's journey to Euro 2028 continues with what Butcher calls a "litmus test" against World Cup winners Spain on Sunday.
Tuchel's men head to Madrid already assured of progress to March's Nations League quarterfinals but know they will top the group if they can end La Roja's long unbeaten record.
A statement win against Spain would help England end a year that brought World Cup bronze on a high, while strengthening a mindset that Butcher feels is the only thing missing ahead of the home Euros.
- Harry Kane breaks England caps record against Croatia
- Luka Modrić hails record-breaker Harry Kane: 'He deserves it'
- Harry Kane stats: His most eye-opening England cap, goal records
"It is a mentality in terms of we've been there before and we haven't got over, but you've got to just dismiss that," Butcher said.
"There's a big hump or a big chasm, once you get over that, you're on the other side, it's like, 'wow, this is the promised land.'
"But I think I think they're well placed [to win it]. It'd be great to be at home, in front of our home crowd and it's perfectly set up for us to do that now. We've got to take advantage of that."
England reached the last two European Championship finals and this summer reached a third World Cup semifinal since lifting the trophy in 1966, with Butcher wearing the armband in 1990.
The former defender relives that unforgettable World Cup run and Sir Bobby Robson's eight-year England reign in a new book called 'Almost Immortal.'
"Bobby was absolutely a cut above," Butcher said. "It was lovely to talk about Bobby and to look back.
"It was the best period of my career. It was it was a roller-coaster ride. It was up and down all the time and there were some very iconic moments in those eight years as well."