“Obviously it’s been up and down,” he admits. “It wasn’t the start of
the season that I wanted, of course. I’m my own biggest critic, I know
when I’m playing well, I know when I’m not, and I know when I can
do better. It was disappointing – England and the other competitions
were going OK but the Premier League wasn’t quite falling for me. As
a team we weren’t doing well, so there was a mixture of stuff going on.
“But I’m proud of the way I’ve turned it around and got back to some
decent numbers in the league. It’s all part of the journey – I’m always
looking to be consistent, but there will be times when things don’t go
your way and you have to find a way of turning it in your favour. I feel
like I’ve done that, but I’ll look back – after every season I assess the
good, the bad, the things I can improve on. I’ll do the same this year.”
Every time he’s found the net for Spurs, Kane has inched ever closer
to Jimmy Greaves’ club record of 266 goals, which looks within reach
next season. “Jimmy was an amazing player for club and country –
he scored an incredible amount of goals in a short amount of games,”
says Kane. “It’s something to try to achieve. I’ve still got a few more
to go, but of course it’d be great to be Spurs’ all-time record scorer.”
WAYNE’S WORLD? PAH...
Before then, he’ll surely hit a half-century of England goals, then equal
Rooney’s international record of 53. “Fifty will be a nice number – it’s
a step closer to breaking the record, and we have four games in June
so hopefully I’ll be able to nick a few and get some wins,” says Kane.
All four summer fixtures are in the Nations League – away to Hungary
and Germany, then home to Italy and Hungary. Reverse ties against
the Azzurri and Germany follow in September before the World Cup.
Kane has already matched Bobby Charlton’s tally of 49 goals, and
topped Gary Lineker’s 48. “To be among those names and hopefully
one day go past them is really special,” he says. “I was playing when
Wayne broke the record [right]. We beat Switzerland 2-0 – I scored,
then he scored a penalty. As players, we knew he had the chance to
break the record and we were excited for him. It’s pretty strange now
to have been on the pitch, and scored, on the same day – Wazza was
great and helped me as soon as I went into the England team as the
captain, giving me advice. He said that one day I’d break his record.”
For that reason, when Rooney received a gold plaque from the FA
to mark his record-breaking international career, he requested that
Kane be the man who awarded it to him. “He asked me to do it with
Gareth – I presented it to him and he said, ‘I’ll be giving this back to
you in a few years’,” chuckles Kane. “I saw him again after the Euros
last summer – he was there at the final. He’s in management now
and in a totally different mindset, but we had a little catch-up and he
said well done for what I’ve been doing.”
Rooney was 12 years into his England career when he claimed the
goalscoring record. Kane is seven years on from his debut, potentially
only halfway through his career, which explains why he’s struggling
to fully get his head around the fact that he’s already set to achieve
something that will form a significant part of his legacy.
It was those seven goals against Albania and San Marino – the first
back-to-back hat-tricks by an England player since Tommy Taylor in
1957 – that moved him to within touching distance. From a distant 12
behind Rooney, sixth in the all-time chart, he’d overtaken Owen and
Greaves in a flash, and was suddenly within five of the record. His own
penalty against Switzerland in March nudged him another goal closer.
“It’s difficult for me to focus on records – they’re amazing and I’m
extremely proud of them, but it’s always just on to the next thing, the“IT’S DIFFICULT TO FOCUS On
RECORDS – FOR nOW IT’S, ‘CAn
I IMPROVE, CAn I GET BETTER?’”
1982 AWAY
England ran out in this red
number for their first game of
the 1982 World Cup – Bryan
Robson needed 27 seconds
to open the scoring in a 3-1
victory over France in Bilbao.
1982 HOME
Arguably the most stylish
home shirt in England history,
though Kevin Keegan doesn’t
have fond memories of it – his
miss against Spain sealed the
Three Lions’ World Cup exit.1990 HOME
Gary Lineker struck four goals
sporting this jersey at Italia 90- one against Ireland in the
group stage, then two against
Cameroon and another in the
semis against West Germany.
1990 THIRD
England didn’t actually need
the third kit at the 1990 World
Cup, but it was iconic all the
same – New Order’s Bernard
Sumner wore it in the famous
World In Motion music video.2002 HOME
England’s threads at the 2002
World Cup, yet it was unveiled
a year earlier – David Beckham
wore it for his free-kick against
Greece, after Michael Owen
netted a hat-trick in Germany.36 July 2022 FourFourTwo
E n GLAnD: A KIT STORY
With the aid of Score Draw and Classic Football Shirts, Kane donned a number of retro England kits during our photoshoot
HARRY
KAnE