Harry Kane has made clear that England’s World Cup campaign in 2026 will be judged only by whether the team win the trophy, with the captain saying anything less will fail to satisfy the squad or the country.
England arrive at FIFA’s showpiece with strong recent form. Under Thomas Tuchel, England won all eight qualifiers, scored 18 goals and did not concede once. That perfect record helped secure a place in Group L, alongside Ghana, Croatia and Panama.
Recent results add to the pressure around England. The team have won 10 competitive matches in a row without conceding, matching a European record first set by Spain between October 2014 and June 2016, and sit fourth in the FIFA world rankings.
Kane accepts the level of scrutiny. "I think we're at
that stage now where only a win is going to satisfy ourselves and satisfy the country," Kane said. "We felt that, a little bit, at the last Euros. We got to the final and there was still a lot of negative noise around us. We knew that unless we won it that noise was going to continue, and it did, that's part and parcel of it. "
England’s recent history deepens that sense of unfinished business. England lost the 2018 World Cup semi-final against Croatia, went out to France in the quarter-finals three years ago, and reached two European Championship finals, losing to Italy and then Spain.
Kane linked those near-misses to the current mood. "The success we've been building since 2018, semi-finals of the World Cup, a final, quarter-final, then another final, we've been knocking on the door, and we've consistently been one of the best teams in the world. Going into this tournament, there's an expectation. We're fourth in the world rankings, people see us as one of the favourites. We have to acknowledge that and take it into the tournament and handle that pressure. "
Harry Kane World Cup ambition and handling pressure
The forward stressed that the group’s focus has shifted from progress to trophies. "We've had a lot of good things, a lot of good moments in the last eight years or so as a national team, but ultimately, now, for myself, it's about winning, it's about winning the biggest trophies. We definitely have the quality to do it, now it's about having the quality to handle those moments. "
Kane described the emotions around major events. "Whenever a major tournament comes around, it's the peak of your career, the peak of the pressure that you feel and the excitement that you feel, so I'm excited to see how I handle that and how the team do as well. "
Harry Kane World Cup scoring record and club form
Kane’s personal numbers underline the expectations. Kane has scored eight World Cup goals for England, only two behind Gary Lineker’s national record of 10 at the tournament, and enters the 2025-26 campaign’s latter stages with 32 goals in 29 games for Bayern across all competitions, ahead of Kylian Mbappe’s 29 goals among players in Europe’s top five leagues.
Harry Kane World Cup leadership and captaincy
The 31-year-old is due to captain England again in the United States, Canada and Mexico, an honour Kane still sees as the peak of a career that began with a childhood obsession with the national team. "I think sometimes when you're in it, you don't realise what you're doing and how young you are," Kane said. "For me, it was always a dream to play for England but to captain England was the pinnacle of mycareer. I was always a massive England fan growing up, more than a club fan, so it was always an achievement I wanted to complete. I've been lucky enough to do it for a long time now, the years go quickly. I never take it for granted, I know how much it means. "
With England entering the 2026 World Cup as one of the favourites, carrying a flawless qualifying run and strong tournament pedigree, Kane’s message is clear: the squad believe they have the talent and experience, and their campaign will be judged by whether they finally bring the trophy back for the first time since 1966.
