Sven-Goran Eriksson: Kane can fire Three Lions to glory:
‘My responsibility is to score the goals’
HARRY KANE goes into his first World Cup insisting that he can carry the burden of captaining England and still score the goals to make the nation proud.
During his failed battle to beat Liverpool’s Mo Salah to the Premier League Golden Boot, the Tottenham striker was lampooned for claiming a goal against Stoke last season that had been awarded to team-mate Christian Eriksen.
Kane maintains there is nothing wrong with being selfish when you’re trying to find the back of the net.
But he is adamant that his role as Three Lions talisman will not compromise his responsibility to the team.
Kane said: “Whatever anyone says, my game has always been about putting the team first.
“Obviously, as a striker, first and foremost you have to have that little bit of selfishness when you are in front of goal.
“But I would always say that if I had a team-mate in a better position, then I would give him the ball without fail.
“If I was one-on-one with the keeper, for example, and my teammate was next to me with an open goal then I would pass.
“For me, nothing changes whether I am captain or not.
“I make the best decision for the team – and hopefully it’s the right one.
“I feel exactly the same now as I did before I was captain. I don’t feel any extra pressure just because I’m wearing the armband. My game won’t change. Certainly my personality won’t change.
“I still look to push myself, to push other players, and I hope my team-mates can now look at me as someone they can talk to.
“But I’m still the same man. I haven’t changed.
“I don’t feel that just because I am captain I don’t have to maintain the standards I have set.
“When you are England’s striker, you have a responsibility to score the goals.”
Kane is still waiting for his first goal in a major international tournament after drawing a blank during England’s humiliating Euro 2016 campaign.
The 24-year-old is aware of how important it is for both himself and the team to get off to a flying start when they face Tunisia. He said: “The first game of any tournament is huge. If we win it then it gives us momentum, but if we don’t win it then we won’t think we’re not going through.
“Tunisia will want to put an upset on the cards, but we won’t underestimate them because we know they’re a good team.
“We have got to be ready. We have got to look to hit the ground running because we know that if we can take three points then we’ll be in a great position.
“All we want to do is make the country proud.
“And all I can promise is that I will do my best and the team will do their best.”