Gareth Southgate wants Harry Kane to become England’s record goalscorer in the World Cup final after the captain moved above Gary Lineker in the standings with only Wayne Rooney ahead of him.
Kane converted the winning penalty in a 2-1 friendly victory over Switzerland at Wembley Stadium last night to move level on 49 international goals with Sir Bobby Charlton.
The Tottenham Hotspur striker is now four off equalling Rooney’s record of 53 goals and Southgate, the England manager, said he did not want to jinx Kane after saying he was on course to become the nation’s all-time top scorer.
“I’d like him to break it in a World Cup final,” Southgate said. “He’s quite calm about it and confident he can get there and his goals-per-game record is phenomenally good.
“One way or another the focus will be on him. He is used to dealing with it and I’m sure he will be very calm about it either way.
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“The names he is among now are incredible. He will appreciate that history and it will mean a lot for him to be among those people. You have to say he looks favourite to do that. I don’t want to put any curse on that and say any more really, but he wants the team to do well so has this dual drive.”
Kane reached the total in 68 appearances for his country, 12 fewer games than Lineker. “Was nice having you for company,” Lineker wrote on Twitter. “Never thought it would last, but it was fun for a while.”
Southgate is set to rotate his squad for Tuesday’s game against Ivory Coast which may mean Kane is unable to gain any ground on Rooney during this international break.
“It is amazing company to be with, super proud to be doing that but we look forward to the next one,” Kane said. “A big year ahead to get more caps and more goals. I will be ready for Tuesday but it is down to the manager [whether I play or not].”
John Stones had to pull out of the game 15 minutes before kick-off due to a muscle problem but Southgate remains optimistic the centre half could be available for the game against Ivory Coast.
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“He felt tightness before the game and we are certain it is not too serious,” Southgate said. “It could be that he is OK before Tuesday but we didn’t have time to assess properly so there was no point in taking a risk and we will find out more tomorrow.”
