Harry Kane believes he can break Wayne Rooney’s England goalscoring record and is ready to end his barren international run in the familiar surroundings of Wembley on Sunday.
The Three Lions captain has not scored for his country in his last seven appearances – but still managed to collect the Golden Boot as England made it to the World Cup semi-finals in the summer.
Rooney bid farewell to international football in Thursday’s 3-0 friendly win against the United States, ending his record-breaking England career with 53 goals from his 120 caps.
Kane, 25, has amassed 19 goals so far and will be looking to get back on the scoresheet in England’s winner-takes-all Nations League clash with Croatia.
He has already been backed by Rooney to one day eclipse his own achievements and now the Tottenham forward has admitted it is something he is targeting in the long term.
“It is definitely possible,” Kane said when asked about breaking Rooney’s feat.
“It is still a fair bit away, I don’t like to set my targets that far ahead in the future because a lot can happen.
“We will see over the years how many goals I have got. Hopefully I will still be fit and healthy and getting selected by the manager.
“It is achievable but not something I’m thinking about too much right now.”
Kane missed a great chance to put England 2-0 ahead in their World Cup semi-final defeat to Croatia.
Victory over the same opponents on Sunday would see Gareth Southgate’s side progress into the last four of the inaugural Nations League.
Kane has become accustomed to playing big games at Wembley, with his Tottenham side using the national stadium as their home while delays on their new ground continue.
He feels playing Champions League football there, alongside England colleagues Harry Winks, Eric Dier and Dele Alli, can only help heading into the game against Croatia.
“We’re comfortable with the surroundings there,” he replied when asked if it can be an advantage.
“I don’t think it affects the game too much. But I know where the Wembley goal is. Hopefully I can try and find it tomorrow.
“I’ve had a bit of experience of big games at Wembley with Spurs, in the Champions League with 80,000 people on the side and singing.
“I want to feel that feeling with England tomorrow night. That will definitely be the case if we win the game. I’m excited for it. I’m looking forward to it.
“We know it’s an important and big game for us. We’ve got to show we’ve come a little bit further from the World Cup and show what we can do.”
Although he failed to score in the memorable 3-2 Nations League win against Spain in Seville last month, Kane earned plenty of plaudits for his selfless display.
The Spanish media were particularly impressed – with Marca labelling Kane as ‘a classic striker who is good at absolutely everything’.
Kane explained that, courtesy of his father, he has those press clippings to hand to one day share with his family.
“It was one of my favourite performances in an England shirt, 100 per cent,” he added.
“It was a victory I’ll probably remember for the rest of my life.
“A funny story but the next day my dad was coming home and he was on a train in Spain and he had bought a load of newspapers and he could see my picture on them but obviously he didn’t have a clue what they said.
“Some Spanish guy even started talking to him in Spanish about it, but he didn’t reply and didn’t know what to say because he doesn’t understand Spanish.
“But he has kept all those papers and I’m 100 per cent sure he’s had them translated. It’s a good keepsake for the future. I saw some of it on social media. I’m aware of what was been saying.
“They are good things for the memory bank and hopefully show the kids and the grandkids in the future.”
