Harry Kane has already smashed one goalscoring record for his club - and Gareth Southgate is backing his captain to do the same for his country.
Kane, who broke Jimmy Greaves’ Tottenham standard of 266 goals when he fired the winner against Manchester City last month, blew the chance to score his 54th England goal when he missed the penalty that sentenced Southgate’s men to a cruel World Cup quarter-final defeat by France in Qatar.
But the England boss has no worries that Kane’s heartbreak in the desert after seeing the 29-year-old continue his prolific form for Spurs. England open their Euro 2024 qualifying campaign against Italy in Naples on Thursday night followed by a Wembley date with Ukraine on Sunday.
Southgate said of the goalscoring record: “I don’t think it’s a big hurdle for Harry, really. I had a good chat with him while we were away, I sent him a message before he went back to his club, and then I took a step back - and had a look at how it’s been.
“I haven’t really felt the need to pick the phone up. It’s all there in his performances for Spurs. Sometimes, you can busy yourself and look for a pat on the back by getting in touch with a player. But I can’t take any credit for what Harry’s done.
“What I’ve observed is a player still super-confident, still ready to perform, still hungry to score goals. He’s obviously gone through a personal landmark with Spurs and then there’s this one (for England) that he’s going to nail with us at some point. But I’ve been able to take a step back and let him get on with it. Sometimes, there’s no need to interfere.”
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Kane has scored 22 times for Tottenham this season - and only Erling Haaland has found the net more times than the England skipper in the Premier League. Marcus Rashford has scored 26 goals for Manchester United while Bukayo Saka’s 11 goals and blistering form for Arsenal have helped the Gunners move clear at the top of the table.
Rashford and Saka missed penalties in the devastating European Championship final shootout defeat by Italy in 2021 and were subjected to sickening personal abuse on social media. But Southgate believes it was the subsequent outpouring of sympathy from the nation that has helped them recover from the nightmare.
He said: “I think if the players hadn’t felt that warmth, they might always be worried about what might go wrong with England - like some of us in the past have realised. You don’t want an environment where people are reluctant to be all-in.
“I think that eventually that love was felt. Bukayo was voted England’s player of the year and was able to turn it round so quickly - and Harry Kane felt the same thing after the World Cup. When you’ve felt the support of the nation, like we’ve felt over the last couple of years, it does give you a better chance of winning.”
Southgate added: “You feel a warmth towards Bukayo. He’s a fabulous human being who broke into the team at Arsenal at a time they weren’t playing so well – and has excelled. Now, here they are pushing for the title – and he’s excelling again. He’s a top player, a proper team player, I can’t speak highly enough of him.
“With Marcus Rashford, I don’t think he had a very good season before the Euros, but this season, he has been exceptional. You can see the happiness in him, you can see the confidence. Marcus is benefiting from the environment at the club. He has a coach who he clearly respects and who has a clear identity on how he wants the team to play.”
