Harry Kane has been speaking about the pre-match speech he delivered to his England teammates ahead of their historic 2-0 win over Germany in the round of 16 stage of the European Championship.
To say that England fans were a little anxious going into the clash on Tuesday would be a massive understatement and their concerns were well-founded given their history against the Germans in tournament football.
Kane himself was under a lot of pressure as the Three Lions skipper had not yet opened his account in the tournament.
However, it proved to be a perfect night for Gareth Southgate’s men, who ran out comfortable 2-0 winners, with the Tottenham star netting the second goal.
England’s head kit man Pat Frost has since revealed that Kane’s inspirational team talk before the game galvanised the team and gave him ‘goosebumps’.
When asked about his team talk during his recent appearance on Lions’ Den (as relayed by Football.London), Kane said: “It’s something I do before every game as the captain. It’s hard because we’ve been speaking so much beforehand getting each other up for it.
“It was just a little message, the last message, little reminders, speaking from the heart. It’s something I enjoy doing and something that whoever is captain on the day will do – it’s good to hear a voice before we go out.”
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The relief was certainly palpable on Kane’s face when he turned in Jack Grealish’s cross to seal the result and get off the mark in the tournament.
The striker insisted that he was always focused on putting away the next opportunity that came his way rather than dwelling on missed chances.
When asked about his goal, the Spurs star said: “As a striker, you want to score every day but I don’t get too carried away if I’m scoring loads or if I’m not scoring – I just try and stay in the moment.
“I always say to young boys and girls that they just have to be ready for the next one. As a striker, you might miss a couple of chances but I always have belief in myself.
“Jack [Grealish] put a great ball in and I just managed to adapt my body a little bit and then once that ball hits the back of the net it’s just pure elation and joy.
“Seeing Wembley like it was and being part of the celebrations was just amazing. Those are the moments that stick with you forever.
“My wife was there, mum, dad, brother – the people that have grown up with me and seen the highs and lows. To have them there when we have that huge high made it even more special and hopefully, we can have a few more occasions like that.
“Seeing the fans falling over and Wembley rocking, singing Sweet Caroline, it just gives you goosebumps. We don’t want to stop here though, we want to give the country as much joy as possible and that starts again on Saturday.”
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As much as Kane insists that he was not bothered by the criticism he was receiving, it likely would have had an impact subconsciously, potentially causing him to snatch at chances. Now that he has his first goal out of the way, he is very much capable of going on a goal-scoring run that can take England all the way.
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