Tottenham striker Harry Kane is closing in on Wayne Rooney’s England goalscoring record - in a feature interview for FourFourTwo, he explains why he could reach a number that goes unsurpassed for decades
(Image credit: Future)
Tottenham and England star Harry Kane says it will be ‘really special’ when he soon becomes his country's all-time leading goalscorer - and believes he can keep scoring at international level for another six or seven years.
Kane sat down for an in-depth interview with FourFourTwo, as he prepares to represent England in four Nations League fixtures over the course of the next few weeks. The striker is currently on 49 goals for the Three Lions, needing just one more to surpass Bobby Charlton and reach the half-century – and only four more to match Wayne Rooney’s England record of 53 goals.
It’s not impossible that he could achieve all of that before the summer is over – and aged just 28, having scored his 49 goals from only 69 appearances, he looks likely to increase the record to a number that could stand for decades.
Already honoured by the prospect of passing both Charlton and Rooney, Kane thinks he can score many more for England in the years to come. “To be among those names and hopefully one day go past them is really special,” he told FFT.
“I would never put a limit or a number on how many goals I can score. I feel like I’ve got many more years in me for England, so if I’ve scored 49 in my first seven years, then there’s no reason why I can’t do similar in the next six or seven. I’m still young. I’m only 28, so I still feel like I’ve got plenty of time in my England career to go.”
Kane was on the field when Rooney surpassed Charlton’s previous milestone number against Switzerland in 2015, and later presented the former Manchester United forward with a special gold plaque from the FA, to mark his record-breaking England career.
(Image credit: Getty)
“Wayne asked me to do it with Gareth Southgate – I presented it to him and he said, ‘I’ll be giving this back to you in a few years’,” Kane told FFT. “Wazza was great for me and helped me as soon as I went into the England team as the captain, giving me advice. He said that one day I’d break his record.”
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Kane’s career so far is being celebrated by a new exhibition at the Museum of London, which began at the weekend and runs until December, displaying a wide range of his memorabilia, including shirts, his World Cup golden boot and his MBE.
(Image credit: Getty)
“The museum wanted a Londoner to inspire young boys and girls, and it’s a great way of doing that by having all my memorabilia there – my trophies, my golden boots,” Kane said. “There’s my MBE, too - you never dream about stuff like that. To get that was a real surprise - I went down to the palace with my wife and family, and we shared that moment.
“The exhibition is a place where people can go and see what I’ve achieved, and the hard work and dedication it took along the way. It wasn’t just straight to the top, I went on loan first, and it will have all of that there in the museum. I’ve got three kids now and it’s important to inspire the younger generation.”
Chris joined FourFourTwo in 2015 and has reported from more than 20 countries, in places as varied as Ivory Coast and the Arctic Circle. He's interviewed Pele, Zlatan and Santa Claus (it's a long story), as well as covering the World Cup, AFCON and the Clasico. He previously spent 10 years as a newspaper journalist, and completed the 92 in 2017.
