There were some emotional moments at full-time on Wednesday as England, who were on the brink of being eliminated from the World Cup by the Democratic Republic of the Congo, advanced to the last 16 thanks to Harry Kane’s goal.
Harry Kane was England’s hero in the last 32 (Image: Michael Reaves/Getty Images)
Harry Kane said the brilliant victory over the Democratic Republic of the Congo was one of England’s favorite goals. And England captain Marvel also relived the celebrations afterwards and believed the match could be a turning point in their World Cup campaign.
Kane has already broken Gary Lineker’s World Cup goalscoring record and surpassed Pele with five goals in the competition, joining Lionel Messi and Kylian Mbappe in the star-studded race for the Golden Boot. However, Kane remembered his second goal as the defining moment of his career, and shared it with his team-mates soon after.
Kane said: “It was my favorite of England’s goals for many reasons, but from a technical point of view it was one of my best.”
“It would have been easy to go back and keep the ball, but Anthony Gordon found a great reverse pass there. In that moment, all I’m thinking is, ‘How can I get a little space to take a shot?’
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“Whenever I’m around the box, I know that if I put the ball where I want it, I’ll let the keeper do his job and hit the target. In training, I’m used to being in difficult positions and missing shots. When I saw that space and the ball started rolling, there was only one thing on my mind.”
“So I’m like, Okay, let’s hit this as hard as I can into the front corner. You can see I’m using my whole body to get as much power as I can. At the end of the day, the most important thing was winning the game. That’s knockout football. Getting the job done.”
Kane also said he is in the best shape of his career and his mindset towards scoring goals has become clear. The same was true of the hastily organized post-game gathering so that the entire team could enjoy the moment.
Kane rallied his players, yelling instructions into the huddle and telling everyone to above all enjoy the moment. Speaking on the FA’s Lions Den Show, the player said: “It’s something you don’t really want to do in public like this, because speaking to a group when you’re in the changing room or in a hotel has more influence.
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Harry Kane has scored 72 goals this year (Image: Steph Chambers – FIFA/FIFA via Getty Images)
“But looking back at the last game, the last game in the group, I felt as a team we didn’t celebrate the moment enough. I think sometimes we take for granted that we finished first in the group.”
“It doesn’t matter who we’re playing against. We did a great job. It was more just a reminder before we went to the fans: ‘Look, let’s enjoy this moment. Let’s sing along with the fans. They’re here for us and they’re listening to ‘Wonderwall’ again, but what is it? 40,000 fans singing back anything.” It’s like, yeah, just memories that you’ll remember forever.
“So I think this was especially for everyone. It was just, let’s all have fun together. Sure, we could have played better and people expect us to win these games, but we still have to do it.”
“And you still feel the pressure and you still have to perform under those lights and we all did it, so this is more of a reminder to everyone. Let’s just enjoy this, let’s celebrate, because before you know it right now you’re focused on the next game and it’s hard to take everything in. So I think this was more of a reminder of that.”
Harry Kane gave an impromptu speech at full time (Image: Eddie Keogh – The FA/The FA via Getty Images)
Kane is also interested in the area of history. His goalscoring figures for club and country this season are remarkable, with only Messi scoring more goals in a single season. But, as always, Kane wasn’t just thinking about his own goals, he was thinking about the team, the bigger picture and his chances of further success in England.
He added: “I’ve scored 72 goals so far this season and I’d like to score a few more. Today’s goals are almost 20 more than I’ve scored in my career so far and I’ve had a pretty good season so far.”
“There were some good moments, but in terms of how I’m feeling right now, I think the overall package is the best I’ve ever felt when I’m on the pitch. I feel like I can score in any situation, in any opportunity I get.”
“And I think it’s all coming together at the right time. I always say, especially when you’re playing in a major tournament, it takes a little bit of luck to get into the shape you want to be in.”
“It’s not always easy when you come out of a tough season. So I’ve been happy this year from that standpoint and for me right now it’s just the next game coming up. I’m in a good space. I’m hoping the next game is there, but that’s kind of a good thing. I think the games are coming faster.”
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