JAKARTA - Harry Kane said that only a victory at the 2026 World Cup would satisfy England and their supporters.
Since reaching the 2018 World Cup semi-finals, England have enjoyed consistent success at major tournaments despite failing to win their first major trophy since 1966.
The Bayern Munich striker admitted frustration at losing the 2024 European final. He added that the only thing that would stop the negative noise around England was winning the upcoming summer tournament.
"I think we are now at a stage where only victory will satisfy ourselves and satisfy the country."
"We felt a little bit of that during the last Euros (2024). We reached the final and there was still a lot of negative noise around us."
"We know that unless we win it, the noise will continue and it is. The success we have built since 2018, the World Cup semi-final, the final, the quarter-final, then the final, we have repeatedly approached the goal and consistently become one of the best teams in the world."
"Leading up to this tournament, there was expectation. We were fourth in the world, people saw us as one of the favourites."
"We have to acknowledge that and accept it in the tournament and overcome that pressure. We have experienced a lot of good things, many good moments in the last eight years as a national team."
"But, at the end of the day now, for me personally, it's about winning, about winning the biggest trophies. We obviously have the quality to do it."
"Now the important thing is to have the quality to overcome those moments. Every time a big tournament arrives, it's the peak of your career, the peak of the pressure you feel and the excitement you feel."
"So, I'm excited to see how I deal with it and how the team will also do it," Kane said.
Preparing to lead England to another major tournament, Kane admitted that being the captain of his country is still the greatest honor of his career. He is now 32 years old. He was first appointed as captain at the age of 24.
"I think sometimes when you're in it, you don't realize what you're doing and how young you are."
"For me, playing for England has always been a dream, but being captain of England is the pinnacle of a career. Since I was a kid I've always been a huge England fan, more than just a club fan."
"So, this has always been a goal I've wanted to achieve. I'm lucky enough to have been able to do it for a long time, the years go by so fast."
"I never take it for granted, I know how much this means," Kane said.
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