Harry Kane believes it's England's 'turn' to clinch World Cup glory ahead of Argentina semifinal
Harry Kane is set to live his “childhood dream” – and maintains England’s moment has arrived at this FIFA World Cup, ahead of their semifinal against Argentina.
The England captain reveals his most vivid recollection is watching David Beckham convert the decisive penalty against Argentina during the 2002 World Cup group stage. Now Kane is poised to surpass Wayne Rooney’s mark of 120 caps as an outfield player in the most significant game of his career against England’s arch-rivals.
However, Kane strongly believes that following their 2018 semifinal heartbreak and consecutive Euros final losses, it’s England’s time to end their silverware drought.
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The Bayern Munich superstar told British broadcaster ITV, via The Mirror: “To be successful, you have to knock on the door and knock on the door and be there.
“And it’s not always as simple as that. We’d love to have won in 2018 or 2021 Euros. But it doesn’t always work like that. But you have to be there consistently. All of a sudden it’s your turn and and that’s the feeling we’ve got to take going into these games.”
When asked whether he now has that feeling, Kane added: “I have that feeling for sure.”
Kane already holds England’s all-time scoring record. He’s now approaching another milestone in the biggest match of his career. As a youngster, he idolized Beckham and continues to cherish a moment from the former England captain against Argentina as his most treasured.
Particularly since his idol experienced a devastating setback four years prior against Argentina following his red card in 1998.
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When asked for his standout moment, Kane said: “It’s actually Beckham’s penalty. Red kit, yellow armband, I think. And we all knew what Beckham went through previously against Argentina and that kind of redemption story of scoring that penalty, his celebration.
“He’s pulling the shirt and his face and yeah, that’s one of my I think one of my favorite England memories. Even if you’d have asked me before playing Argentina, I think that was always one of my favorite memories, Beckham being a big idol of mine. So that one stands out for sure.
“Now what an occasion to to play one of the the best teams. The reigning world champions in a semifinal of the World Cup. I think in these moments I think back to to being a kid and having dreams and what it would be like to play in these games.
“And yeah, this is as big as it gets. So I’m really excited for this week. I think it’s going to be a special game. And yeah, what what a tough, tough team to play against. But yeah hopefully that brings the best out in us.
“The history and yeah, that’s all part of it. And that’s what you guys will talk about the fans will be involved in. But from a player’s point of view, it’s us against a great team who are smart, who are tactical, who know how to buy fouls, know how to slow the game down like many different teams you come up against throughout, throughout your whole career.
“So it’s England versus Argentina. It’s two of the biggest nations going toe to toe two giants in a semi-final of a World Cup. Yeah, the rest of it is just a small part for us.
“We have a focus, we have a preparation that we do in every moment, in every game. And this game is no different. And, you know, the most important thing is that we back ourselves to be successful on this stage.”
Kane is equally eager to surpass Rooney as England’s most capped outfield player, representing yet another milestone for the nation’s all-time leading scorer.
He added: “Most outfield capped player. Yeah. Another. Another special one. Again. It’s so hard to process all this I think in the tournament situation going past some of the names I have, it started with obviously Beckham at 115 and now going past Wazza at 120.
“England legends, England greats that you know, until I’m probably retired I won’t fully appreciate I’m amongst those names. But yeah, it’s totally the last thing on my mind going into these games because it’s all about the team. It’s all about getting into into that final.”
