KANE WINS GOLDEN BOOT

HARRY KANE has expressed his pride at winning the Golden Boot. The England striker’s tally of six goals was enough to be the tournament’s top scorer and follow in the footsteps of Gary Lineker, who won the award in 1986. ‘It’s been a fantastic campaign, for me personally and the team,’ said Kane. ‘It’s something I’m very proud of. But I can get better. ‘I said the Euros (in 2016) were disappointing. If anything I wanted to prove to myself I could score at this level. I’ve scored at every other level and it was important I did that.’ Kane will cut short his summer break by two weeks to ensure he is available for Tottenham’s Premier League opener against Newcastle on August 11. Players usually have four weeks off before returning to their clubs after international tournaments. ‘I will hopefully be back for the first game and try and score in August this year,’ he said. England defender John Stones also said he intends to report back to Manchester City earlier than expected. Meanwhile, Jose Mourinho has had a dig at Raheem Sterling, saying that the City forward should have been dropped for England’s third-place playoff against Belgium after underperforming in Russia. ‘He didn’t have a good enough World Cup to be chosen for a match ahead of Jamie Vardy, Danny Welbeck, Marcus Rashford — people with probably better condition from a physical and psychological point of view,’ the Manchester United manager told RT.