Harry Kane: Only a World Cup trophy will satisfy England fans

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Kane: Only winning the World Cup would satisfy England (1:51)

Harry Kane speaks about England's hopes of winning the World Cup and the pressure of being one of the favourites. (1:51)

Harry Kane has told ESPN that only a win at next year's FIFA World Cup will satisfy both the England team and the country.

Since reaching the 2018 World Cup semifinal, England have enjoyed consistent success at major tournaments, albeit without winning their first major trophy since 1966.

The Bayern Munich striker acknowledged the frustration of losing in the final of Euro 2024 last year, adding that the only thing which will stop "negative noise" around the England team is to win next summer's tournament.

"I think we're at that stage now where only a win is going to satisfy ourselves and satisfy the country," Kane said.

"We kind of felt that during a little bit the last Euros. We got to a 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. The success we've been building from 2018, semifinal of the World Cup, final, quarterfinal then 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.

"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.

"Whenever a major tournament comes around, it's the peak of your career, 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."

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Set to lead England into another major tournament, Kane acknowledged that captaining his country remains the biggest honour of his career. Now 32, he was first named skipper at the age of 24.

"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 a career.

"I was always a massive England fan growing up, more than a club fan so it was always an achievement I wanted to do. I've been lucky enough to do it for a long time now, the years go quick.

"I never take it for granted, I know how much it means."