Poch leads the Kane love-in

IT’S the love affair which Harry Kane hopes will catapult England all the way to World Cup glory.

Within minutes of the England captain netting a last-gasp winner against Tunisia on Monday, Kane’s mobile phone was in meltdown.

One text stood out – from the striker’s Tottenham boss Mauricio Pochettino.

The Argentinian had already sent Kane a good luck message before their opening Group G game.

“Poch texted me, and after the game as well,” said Kane. “He sent a lot of love hearts and said, ‘Come on England!’.

“He is rooting for me. He has a lot of lads here. He is not just my boss, he’s my mate... he’s the manager, but he’s a friend as well. He wants me and the whole team to do well.”

Kane is feeling the love from a whole nation right now after his double against Tunisia made it 10 goals in his last eight games for England.

But in the hours leading up to kick-off, the Three Lions’ youngest World Cup skipper at just 24 admits he tries to shut out the outside world.

“I wake up, eat, chill out, get some treatment – a massage. It was a long day,” said Kane of his pre-match preparation.

“Some people like to be on their phones up to an hour before the warm-up.

“I text or speak to the missus, FaceTime the little one, then listen to music.

“I stay off social media, stay off texts, and try to prepare. I am not someone who does too much. I try and stay in the moment and that helps.

“I try not to think about the game too much. I try to think positive, think about scoring, about doing well.

“It is the fear of the unknown and anticipation that makes me nervous. There were some nerves, there was some excitement.

“Once I scored, it eased my nerves. Then I waited for another to fall my way and thankfully it did.”

Kane’s preparations worked as England won their opening World Cup game for the first time since 2006.

It meant so much to the match-winner he decided not to swap shirts with any of his opponents. But at least two Tunisians tried to get the shirt off his back during the game, wrestling him to the ground.

However, his decision to snub them had more to do with patriotism than a protest against their dubious defensive tactics.

“I wanted to keep it, that’s all – first goal, first World Cup goals, first win, first World Cup,” added Kane, who felt England should have been awarded two penalties.

“It was a bit disappointing because VAR is there for a reason.

“As players, there is nothing we can do. It is down to the officials. For me, it is down to a big moment, being in the right place, right time.”