Kane is all set for the World Cup

Harry Kane insists he is ready for the challenge of leading England to World Cup glory, a feat which could land him a second Golden Boot in the process.

The Tottenham striker captained England to the semi-finals of the 2018 World Cup and the final of Euro 2020. Now he heads to Qatar looking to make it third time lucky and end the nation’s 54-year wait for a major men’s trophy.

With England opening their campaign against Iran today, Kane said he is ready to seize the moment in the Middle East.

“Of course it is going to be really hard and a big challenge, but I am ready for that challenge,” he said.

“You cannot take anything for granted in football. I was lucky enough to play in 2018 in the World Cup and had an amazing experience and a great tournament and in football a lot can change quickly.

“You have to appreciate these moments, for sure, and I am really looking forward to this one because we have got a really good team, a great blend of experience and youth.

“In life in general you have to take opportunities that come your way. I look back through my career and I had a great opportunity when I was 21 to grab the starting shirt at Tottenham and work my way up through the team and this is just another step in hopefully that direction.

“In four years’ time, who knows where I will be? It is about now. I am in good form and that is what I am most excited about.”

Having ended the 2018 World Cup as the highest goalscorer, Kane will be aiming to retain the award in Qatar – something that has never been achieved.

The striker has 51 England goals, two fewer than record-holder Wayne Rooney, but will put the team’s targets ahead of his own. He said: “Of course, it would be a great thing to achieve. I was able to do it in 2018 and it helped the team to get to a semi-final.

“I know if I won it again this year it means that hopefully the team is doing pretty well and we’re going pretty far, which is the most important thing.

“Of course as a striker I’ll be judged on scoring goals. I know how that works, but most importantly it is about giving my best for the team – whether that is scoring, assisting, defending, whatever it may be, I’m ready to do what’s necessary to win.

“In terms of players, of course we’re playing against the best players in the world – the (Cristiano) Ronaldos, (Lionel) Messis, Neymars, the list goes on.

“We will have to wait and see. I always try not to think about stuff like the

Golden Boot. The most important thing is trying to win the World Cup and that’s what my focus is on, that is what the team’s focus is on and we know we’ve got a difficult road ahead, but we’re focused.

“I know it’s there and I know people talk about it, but I like to just focus on my game and trying to do my best for the team. I know the team we have will create chances and I just need to be ready for ones that come my way.

“Obviously I was lucky enough to play with Wayne many times for England and he was a huge player I looked up to growing up and playing for England, watched him in the major tournaments.

“So to be close to him is obviously a real honour and for sure, hopefully I can do it as soon as possible but if it’s not the case, it’s not something I’m going to panic about. I’ll just focus game by game.”

James Maddison is the only player ruled out against Iran as he recovers from a knee issue.

“Everybody is available bar James Maddison for tomorrow,” boss Gareth Southgate said.

“It’s a little bit early for Kyle Walker, but he is training with the team, so that’s ahead of where we thought he might be at this stage. Very positive.

“We’re looking forward to this challenge and I’ve really liked the way the players have approached training. It’s been a good transition for us because training a couple of days earlier (in the day) with the heat, which we wanted to adapt to, now we’ve had a couple of lighter sessions later at night.

“It’s quite cool now, so we feel that that’s been good physical tapering for the game.”

England’s Harry Kane.