Arlington, June 17 (IANS) Captain Harry Kane believes the 2026 FIFA World Cup presents England with the "best opportunity" to lift the elusive trophy. Coming off a spectacular season where he scored 61 goals in 51 games for Bayern Munich, the striker is confident he is more ready than ever to extend his career-best form and lead the Three Lions deep into the tournament.
England kick off their campaign with a Group L opener against Croatia here on Thursday (IST). Kane scored an incredible 61 goals in all competitions for Bayern and added six more for his country, including the winner in the World Cup warm-up win over New Zealand in Florida.
Speaking at a pre-game press conference, the 32-year-old said, “I’d say, from a personal point of view, coming off the best season I’ve ever had, physically and mentally. The way the season ended for me was in a great way – winning the league and the cup final and scoring three goals there. From a physical point of view I feel in great shape."
"For your career you need a lot of things to go your way and fall into place at the right time and I feel like it has for this tournament. For sure it’s one of the best opportunities we will have as a team to win it. I think everyone is eager to just start well and prove that we have the capabilities of going far in this tournament."
Kane, who is England’s all-time record goalscorer and joint fourth in the list of record appearance makers, was part of the squads who reached the 2018 World Cup semi-finals and the finals of EURO 2020 and 2024.
When Kane leads the team out in Dallas, it will be his 115th cap for England, a record to match David Beckham. “To reach the same level of caps as Beckham is a great thing for me. Beckham was a big idol of mine growing up, watching him as England captain and hoping and dreaming one day I would be in the same England shirt as him, so that will be a great emotion.
"Throughout my whole career it’s been about just being the best I can be, improving every moment, improving every season, and I think that’s the only mindset to have. At the highest level you want to be as consistent as what I’ve been, and like some o f the other players I’ve touched on earlier – Ronaldo, Messi, Modric, all these players.
“Being able to do it for 20-plus years is what truly separates the good players from the great players, so I’m extremely proud of being here again, being in my sixth tournament, and being in the shape that I’m in as well," he said.
Speaking on England's chances in the FIFA World Cup 2026, Kane insists nobody is taking anything for granted this time.
“Throughout a career, you need a lot of things to go your way and fall into place at the right time, and I feel like it has at this tournament. We just need to start well tomorrow and prove we could go far in this tournament.
"We've been able to be in the semi-finals and finals, and that only boosts the confidence within the squad. Ultimately, from our point of view, we can only do what we do on the pitch. Part of every tournament is for fans to get excited and enjoy the summer.
"I remember being young, singing the songs and believing it was our time. From a player's point of view, we never get too carried away. There is a lot that goes into a tournament like this behind the scenes," he said.
--IANS
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