WE’RE NO DUMMIES
Kane determined to end years of hurt
HARRY KANE insists England have the ‘hunger’ to bring an end to almost six decades of pain this summer.
The striker will lead his Three Lions into Euro 2024 on a mission to banish the demons from three years ago, when Gareth Southgate’s men lost on penalties to Italy in the final.
And he also has his own personal penalty hell – missing from the spot against France in the 2022 World Cup quarter-final – still to be put right.
But Kane believes being so competitive at the business end of tournaments is fuelling England’s bid to get their hands on their first major silverware since 1966.
When asked how he viewed the way his last tournament ended in Qatar, he said: “Yeah, pretty s**t, wasn’t it?
“But in football you are going to have ups and downs on the way.
“That was a down for me, but I have put that to bed and I am excited for another major tournament. Being so close in the last Euros, there is a real hunger to be back.
“It comes around quickly. We had the World Cup and we are back here again. I feel we are on the right path.
“But, as we all know, it is really difficult to win these tournaments.
“There are a lot of things that you have to do right and prepare right and you need a bit of luck here and there.
“We have that mindset that we can achieve it. We also know there is a lot of hard work from now until the final.”
Southgate (right with Kane) has been criticised for leaving out some big names from his 26-man squad in favour of picking less experienced stars.
Marcus Rashford, Jack Grealish and Jordan Henderson have all been left at home. But Kane feels England have enough nous to be successful and is excited about the talent around him.
He added: “We have more than enough experience, especially a lot of players who have played in two or three tournaments.
“There are always going to be new players, players who deserve to be here, players who are in their first tournament.
“It is about making sure they feel comfortable, that they feel at ease when they are training or on the pitch, just to be themselves.
“We have more than enough. The lads who have played in a lot of tournaments have to step up and be there for the ones who need a bit of help.”
Kane heads to Germany on the back of a stunning season which saw him score 36 league goals for Bayern Munich in his first campaign since joining them from Tottenham. Kane, who won the Bundesliga’s Golden Boot award, admits the warm-up camp has improved his sharpness even more after a back injury. And that he heads back to his adopted home confident he can keep on scoring.
The Three Lions skipper said: “I am all good. It has been a really good camp for me in that sense. “Getting a good week of training and some game time, I feel really prepared and in a good place.
“It would have been nice if I had scored on Friday (against Iceland), but that is the way it goes. Overall it has been a good camp for my fitness.”