‘If I finish without a major trophy for England, I see that as a failure’: Harry Kane insists Three Lions are ‘ready for anything’ at Euros and is desperate to end 55-year silverware drought
Harry Kane will regard it as a ‘failure’ if he finishes his career without a major trophy for England.
Gareth Southgate’s side enter this summer’s European Championship as second favourites behind France and have a great chance at glory on home soil.
Not since the 1966 World Cup, a drought of 55 years, have the Three Lions tasted success on the international stage but Kane thinks the talent is there now.
Harry Kane (left) will regard it as a failure if he does not manage with win a trophy with England
Gareth Southgate’s side enter Euro 2020 with a real chance of winning it this summer
The talismanic striker told the Evening Standard: ‘I hope my mum doesn’t mind me revealing her age, but she was born in 1966. My dad was born in 1964, so he was two when England won the World Cup.
‘That is how long ago we are talking about, and it’s down to us to put that right.
‘I think if I finish my career as a footballer without winning a major trophy for England, I would see that as a failure.
‘I know we are still progressing, still got room to improve, but that is the goal and I think we can do that.’
Kane went on to add that rival teams in the Euros will fear playing England.
Kane, who played in the win over Austria on Wednesday, says nobody wants to face England
He said: ‘There is a lot of expectation but there is a lot of belief. I know these players and I feel we are ready for anything.
‘There are some great teams — France, Belgium, Germany, Spain, Italy, Portugal — and to win it we know we have to beat some of those teams, and that is the challenge.
‘But I know for sure, none of those teams will want to face us. A lot of their best players play with us and against us, week in, week out; they know we are a tough opponent for any of them.’
Kane has not won a trophy of any significance in his career and as he approaches his 28th birthday, knows now is the time to cash in.
He has told Tottenham he wants to leave in pursuit of silverware and evidently has huge ambitions to fill a bare cabinet with club and country.
Kane says England are ready for anything in the weeks ahead on home soil
The forward went on to explain he is committing everything in pursuit of those goals, saying: ‘[Fame] has changed my life. But it hasn’t changed me as a person,’ he says. ‘I would say the same about money. It means I can look after my wife and my family. But I can promise you if football was still an amateur sport, and we got paid nothing, I would still be a footballer.
‘There is no other job that could give me the satisfaction this one does. I just happen to be playing in an era when the top players earn a lot.
‘I want to be with [my wife] and the family. I am not a drinker, I am not someone who wants to be seen out and about. I want to be a top footballer, and that means focus and it means doing everything you need to do to be the best you can be.’