Harry Kane insists England can handle the expectation of being one of the World Cup favourites.
Three Lions boss Gareth Southgate’s men are set to be among the top seeds for next week’s draw in Qatar for the tournament which starts in November. England are ranked fifth in the world and will join the likes of Belgium, France, Brazil, Argentina and Spain in the top pot while Germany are set to miss out because they are currently 11th in the FIFA rankings.
It will be a new experience for England who went to the 2018 World Cup without much pressure on their shoulders but Kane admitted being semi finalists four years ago and then reaching the Euros final last summer has raised expectation levels. England captain Kane will lead his nation into the final two friendlies before the World Cup against Switzerland and Ivory Coast but he says the whole squad will be ready and they will not fear anyone.
Tottenham striker Kane said: “There’s definitely an expectation on us now. The final from the summer still hurts, it still leaves a bitter taste in the mouth so for sure it gives you more hunger and fire in the belly to go one step further in a major tournament.
“It feels like we are improving every year and this year is no different. We are really taking big strides into becoming one of the best teams in the history of the England national team.
“There’s lots of great teams. From Europe you have France, Germany, Spain. In South America you have Brazil, Argentina, top nations who have been there or thereabouts in World Cups for many many years.
“As we have learned over the last couple of campaigns there are no easy games. Every game for England is a tough one and we have to make sure we are ready for that.”
Kane also says beating Germany last summer on the way to reaching the Euros final has boosted their confidence they can beat other big teams while they have also learnt from other recent heartbreaks.
“It was great for our confidence to be beat a big nation in a knockout game,” said Kane. “Fantastic for the fans, who have suffered a lot of heartache against Germany over the years.
“It was nice to get that win in a high pressure situation so that will give us confidence going into the World Cup. Whoever we get we know it will be difficult but we back ourselves against anyone and we look forward to the challenge.”
Kane has also hit top form himself in World Cup year as he is enjoying a new lease of life as goal scorer and provider under Antonio Conte at Tottenham.
While Kane did not want to discuss his future - which is certain to be a hot topic again this summer - he did make it clear that Conte has been hugely important to him. He has also dropped hints previously that finishing in the top four could be a game changer for him.
Kane added: “I’ve touched on Antonio, he’s a fantastic coach, since he’s come in we’ve got on really well. He brings his ideas to the game, he brings the way he wants me to play, the strikers to play, I’ve definitely learnt different aspects of my game under him.
“I feel physically in a better place, we train really hard, we work really hard every day and I feel like I’ve felt the benefits of that in how I feel physically and even mentally with that mental sharpness. I’m in a really good place.
“I’m in good form but as always I feel I can improve and Antonio is definitely a manager that will keep pushing you to your limits and I enjoy having someone like that as the manager.
“Look I’m not going to get into personal discussion between me and the manager. Our main focus since he came in was to finish this season as well as possible.
“We have a big race for the top four which is really important for the players, for the manager, for the club. These next 10 games are all I’m focussed on and the manager’s focussed on, hopefully finishing as high as we can.”
