Harry Kane believes he will be at his “peak sharpness” as he looks to continue his excellent goalscoring record for England at Euro 2024.
Captain Kane may be England’s all-time leading scorer, but his equaliser against Denmark was their first in the group stages of a major finals since the 2018 World Cup.
However, his recent record will give him encouragement once the final part of the tournament begins against Slovakia on Sunday, having scored four in four Euro 2020 games as England were eventually beaten on penalties by Italy.
At the 2022 World Cup, he again drew a blank in the group stage, before scoring twice in two games, although he missed a penalty in the quarter-final loss to France.
England face Slovakia in the last 16 in Gelsenkirchen on Sunday evening as they look to book a Euro 2024 quarter-final date with Switzerland.
Harry Kane believes he will be fully fit for England’s Euro 2024 last-16 clash
The forward admitted that with the Three Lions he usually grows in large international tournaments.
Kane hopes to extend his impressive run in all-or-nothing internationals as he explains why he feels he is growing in competition.
“I think it’s kind of a tournament process,” he said.
‘I think you naturally get stronger physically and sharper the more you play.
‘We’ve had three games in a short space of time, so I feel like not only me, but a lot of players reach their peak in the knockout stage and that’s what I found as well, especially in the recent tournaments.
“As a forward of the team, obviously I want to score goals and help the team get to the next round, but if I’m not the one who scores and we go through anyway, I’m not going to complain.
Kane has only scored one goal in Germany, his only goal coming in the 1-1 draw against Denmark.
“It could just be the sharpness aspect, but ultimately I enjoy these games. I think knockout football is a different prospect to the group stage and we’ve handled it well in the past and now it’s time to do it again.”
Kane’s poor finish in the 1-1 draw with Denmark was one of only two goals England managed in their three Group C matches, prompting widespread criticism for their poor performances despite having done enough to advance as first in group.
Boos were heard at the end of the draws in Denmark and Slovenia, as plastic beer cups were thrown towards manager Gareth Southgate.
“I think, if I’m totally honest, I think 99 per cent of the fans are behind the team and the manager,” Keane responded when asked if he had a message for the fans ahead of the last 16 clash at Veltins. Sand.
“Of course, both as a player and as a manager, there will be times when people will voice their opinion and that is part and parcel of playing for England.
‘That’s the bottom line, but I think, as the boss said there, the second half of that game especially was one of the best atmospheres I’ve ever been involved in and it shows how much the fans care about the team, they care about us. Let’s try to win the game and that’s all that matters.
Plastic cups were thrown at manager Gareth Southgate after Slovenia’s goalless draw.
“We are a very strong group, not just the players but the staff as well. We know what it has taken to achieve what we have achieved over the last six years or more.
We know it will be a very tough journey from now until the end of this tournament if we want to go all the way.
“So the only thing that matters is fighting for each other on the training pitch, on the match pitch and that’s what we continue to do and I know the fans support us in that.”
Kane hopes his bond with Jude Bellingham will improve as the tournament progresses.
“From a captain’s point of view, I always talk to all the players and with Jude we always talk about how we can improve,” Kane said. “We watched clips of the game against Denmark to see how we can play better. We would have liked to play better and have more connection.
“But I still feel like the movements are there. We’re moving really well and I think it was a lot better than the first two games.
Kane is hopeful his bond with Jude Bellingham will improve as the tournament progresses.
‘As I mentioned before the tournament, the relationship is quite new. Although we have played together a bit, there are still things we can both do better.
“Hopefully as the tournament progresses we’ll get better and better. From Jude’s point of view, he just needs to keep doing what he’s doing.
‘In competitive football many things accelerate very quickly. In the first game he was the best player and man of the match and in the last two games none of us has reached the level we really wanted.
‘It’s two games. It’s not the end of the world. I know things are getting tense and there will be a lot of talk about it, but that’s part of playing for England in a major tournament.
‘Jude has coped with this incredibly well for his age. He has coped very well with coming to Real Madrid for his age.
—So there’s no need to worry about Jude. He’s a great guy, he believes in himself 100 percent and from both of our points of view we want to go out tomorrow and start improving our levels.”