Harry Kane on the pain of still solving England’s hardest question: ‘How can we be ourselves?’

Harry Kane made it to New York for 19 July. He played a favourite sport, too. Although it wasn’t football and it wasn’t in the MetLife Stadium. Kane did not watch the World Cup final. Perhaps it would have been too raw. “I was in New York playing golf,” the England captain recalled. “I flew straight after the third and fourth play-off [in Miami].” If it was an attempt to take his mind off England’s exit, it was not as simple as that. Over the last decade, Kane has lost two finals, two semi-finals and a quarter-final in his country’s colours. The Atlanta defeat to Argentina was the most painful yet ; perhaps because, having since turned 33, it may be his last chance to win the World Cup. In particular, though, there was the manner of it: England’s retreat as Thomas Tuchel went to a back five, the 36-minute spell when they had just 12 per cent of possession . Kane thought it was out of character. England, he said, went against their beliefs, their identity. Lionel Messi #10 of Argentina is congratulated by Harry Kane #9 of England (Getty) “I have been to the finals, I have been to semi-finals and been so close,” he said. “Each one hurts in a different way. This one hurt, for sure, more than any other one. I would probably say even more than when I missed a penalty [against France] in Qatar because of the manner that it happened. It was not us as a team. It was not the team we wanted to be or said we would be. Sometimes you maybe go against your beliefs and it feels 10 times worse than losing your way when you accept it, take it on the chin and move on.” For Kane, part of the frustration lay in England’s decidedly uneven performances in the United States; inspired at times against Croatia and Mexico, the scorers of six goals in the play-off against France, but otherwise often less impressive. “Taking away the big loss at the end, there were still [times] where we didn't quite reach our potential and the way that we train and the level that we train, and I think it's trying to translate how well we train into games,” he said. “Easier said than done.” But it is a time for talking. The debrief has begun since England linked up at St George’s Park this week, preparing for Saturday’s clash with a Spain team who have status they wanted: World Cup winners. Perhaps Tuchel’s tactics against Argentina will form part of the inquest. More generally, Kane reflected: “We need to kind of discuss amongst ourselves and answer ourselves, as players and as coaching staff: ‘How? How can we be better in those moments? How can we be ourselves more in those moments?’ Through qualifying campaigns and a lot of games in tournaments, we play with a certain intensity and we play in in a good way. It's something that we haven't quite been able to do in latter stages of tournaments against the bigger nations and the better nations.” Kane was left wondering whether it was the English attitude in such defining clashes, the blueprint, simply the individuals involved. “And it may be a mixture of things: it may be personalities,” he said. “It may be mentality. It may be just the direction and how we want to play in those games. I think it's conversations that we need to have as a group and team. We're still going to talk about the summer and talk about good and bad. The general messaging is that we continue what we've been building.” The hope for Kane, with a home European Championships in 2028, is that England can reach new heights. Yet the rebuilding starts without some who could be pillars of a new campaign. Five players were named in Tuchel’s Nations League squad, only to withdraw from it. Two years ago, Kane was critical of players who pulled out . “England comes before anything,” he said in 2024. Now he understood when the vice-captain Declan Rice dropped out . “I spoke to Dec, and I know Dec goes far and beyond for the club and country, and I know he's been struggling for a while with his issues,” Kane added. But the sense is that Kane has always put England first . He has long ranked first in his country’s history for goals: with 85, obliterating Wayne Rooney’s previous record. He is already first for appearances by an outfield player, on 121, and is only four behind Peter Shilton’s overall record. He could equal that in the next two weeks, pass it in November. “Growing up the dream was just to play for England and being most capped was never even in my mind at that stage,” Kane said. (Getty) And yet it is typical of his ambition that he is aiming for more. “It makes me wonder why some of our great England players have not reached 160, 170, 180 like some of the other nations,” he added. Once again, perhaps, he may look on enviously at what players from other countries have achieved. But many from abroad admire him, too. Kane is among the favourites for the Ballon d’Or , propelled into contention by a season when he scored 73 goals for club and country. Others have given more interviews touting their own credentials. “The Ballon d'Or has become bigger and bigger over recent years,” Kane rationalised. “And mainly because of social media, and all the noise, and all the conversations about it. It's just not my personality to talk about myself in that light. It makes me more proud when other people talk about me, when other team-mates or ex-players or whoever it is, people who compliment me on what I achieved.” Winning the Ballon d’Or would be the highest individual achievement possible. But Kane could have become a World Cup-winning captain by now. The fact he is not still lingers with him.