Harry Kane using ‘worst moment of his life’ to fire England to World Cup glory

Harry Kane has helped England to secure a spot at next summer’s World Cup and the striker is already thinking about what he’s going to use as motivation for potential glory

Harry Kane admits the worst moment of his life is the driving force behind his dreams of World Cup glory. Three years ago, Kane missed a last-gasp penalty in the quarter final defeat to France and if he had scored it would have taken the tie to extra time.

Since then, Kane became obsessive about working on his penalty-taking technique, scored his next 31 spot kicks and that alone shows just how much he is driven by disappointment.

And Kane, 32, is driven by that heartbreak ahead of next summer when he will again shoulder the hopes of a nation as he leads Thomas Tuchel ’s England to the United States.

Kane said: “I’d say that was probably the worst that I felt in any moment. Obviously I’ve lost finals before. To have that responsibility, you almost feel like it fell on my shoulders and I guess not being able to execute something that I’ve been able to execute many a time in my career.

“I think that was the hardest part to process and take. But as always as a sportsman, putting yourself in that situation, there’s going to be moments where it doesn’t quite go your way.

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“But yeah, I think the way I learned from that, the way that motivated me to get even better and improve, not just from the penalty side in terms of improving my technique but as an all-round player.

“After another major tournament, you get over it and get on with it. I scored a penalty in the semi-final of the Euros which was as high pressure as you are going to get. I always try and learn from those moments.

“After that penalty, I went 31, I think, without missing. So I changed my technique a little bit, I improved in that sense which I was proud of. And that’s always what I will try and do.

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“In terms of that being my last memory [of a World Cup], yeah, I’m looking forward to the next World Cup to try and put that right, to try and go further, to try and lift the trophy as we all dream of doing.

“And the opportunity is always there when that is coming around. I think those moments only shape you as a person, as a player and it’s definitely helped me to become a better player.

“I want to help England get back there. I’ve been lucky enough to play in two World Cups now. I just think they are the greatest tournaments to be a part of.

“I spoke to some of the guys here who haven’t experienced that yet, trying to tell them how excited they should be and it’s a great thing to look forward to.

“And for me, it’s using those experiences to try and help some of the other lads and for them, it’s just to go full gas and enjoy the experience.”

Kane has now scored 76 goals in 110 caps after his double in Latvia helped England become the first European team to book their place in next summer’s finals.

There is an obvious bond between captain and manager which comes from mutual respect as Tuchel signed Kane for Bayern Munich and tried to do the same when he was in charge of Chelsea.

Now they head to the World Cup together and Kane admits winning the biggest prize of all was always his childhood dream ahead of everything else – and there is a real belief he can do it this time.

Kane added: “It’s no secret that I was a big England fan growing up. Every time a World Cup came around I was excited to watch it and be that fan down the pub and celebrate the goals.

“Obviously now I have been part of one of our most successful times as a team. Getting to two major finals has been incredible, semi-final and a quarter-final at a World Cup. We’ve been knocking on the door.

“But we know we’re just at the bottom of the mountain still. To win a World Cup is going to be incredibly hard. But we are in a great moment.

“We’ll have to beat the biggest teams on the biggest stage and these moments, these feelings we’ve got together right now are important stepping stones to arriving in the summer and being fearless against anyone.”

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