England’s World Cup hopes got a boost from an unexpected visitor: David Beckham, as Harry Kane has revealed in their defeat over Iran, Wales and Senegal.
Beckham, the former England captain and an ambassador for the tournament in Qatar, urged Kane and the other players to win it all. Prior to England’s quarterfinal match against France in the World Cup on Saturday, Kane admitted he tried to draw on Beckham’s expertise.
England captain Kane said: “A few days ago, Beckham visited, and we had a pleasant conversation. When I was a kid, I looked up to him the most. Among our captains, he was undoubtedly one of the best.” Rather than asking him about specific games or how he felt during them, I’d rather learn about his life experiences and his thoughts on our team. He can hardly wait for his national team to play. Whenever he can, he comes to see us perform. Having the backing of former players is invaluable. They have a deep understanding of what it takes to be a national representative. Everyone there is a team player.”
Kane, a striker for Tottenham, has acknowledged that England will need to perform at a high level in order to beat France, but he has also noted that the young players on the team are fearless. Kane believes that the team’s experience and the enthusiasm of their fans at home and in Qatar can carry them all the way to the finals, and he is eager to improve on their semi-finals showing from 2018.
To which Kane continued: “If we want to win the World Cup, we still have three more games to play. We have been recovering and preparing admirably, and I believe that the team that best deals with this situation will emerge as world champions. We are up against a formidable opponent this coming Saturday, but the boys are in high spirits and eager to extend their recent success.” There must be a chill in the air back home while we bask in the sunshine and adrenaline. We feel like we’re in our own little bubble here, and it’s great. It feels good to see the fans going crazy in the stadiums because we’re doing this for them, for ourselves, and for the country.” We’ve had two successful tournaments and are now aiming for the championship. Excellent to have pride and the support of the fans who want to see us succeed. These dudes have no inhibitions; they want to go out and be themselves. To me, it seems like we have the perfect balance of youth and maturity. You can see this in the teams that have previously won tournaments.
“If the boys do well in a game, I feel like a proud older sibling. No, I’m not going to call you dad; that’s taking it a little too far. I’m one of the older members of the team, at the ripe old age of 29. That’s fantastic to see in action. When we play games, we need to have the mindset that we will give everything we have “France is one of the best teams in the world and will have to be faced if a team hopes to win the World Cup. Believe is something we possess. Although we are not getting too excited, we are aware that this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to compete in a World Cup semi-final.”
Furthermore, Kane has stated that he will not rest until he has surpassed Wayne Rooney’s record of 89 goals. What he actually said was: “I’m looking forward to (maybe) giving it a try. That said, we just have to watch and see what happens. It felt good to finally get that one on Sunday and move closer to the finish. line.
“I got lucky because Wayne shattered it while I was playing. He had previously predicted that I would be the one to give him the award, so he asked me to do it. To have someone I had looked up to my whole life say that I could do it gave me confidence that I could.”