England's World Cup hopes rest mostly on Harry Kane after Ballon d'Or season

Harry Kane arrives at what is likely to be his final World Cup in the form of his life, having delivered the best goal-scoring season of his career for Bayern Munich and put himself firmly in the Ballon d'Or conversation. At 32 he finished the season on 61 goals in all competitions, including 36 in the league and 14 in the Champions League, and claimed the European Golden Shoe, outscoring Erling Haaland and Kylian Mbappe by nine and 11 goals respectively.

With England chasing a first major trophy in 60 years, much of the responsibility will fall on the captain’s shoulders. He sits on eight World Cup goals — level with Cristiano Ronaldo — and could target England’s record of 10 held by Gary Lineker, while also harbouring an outside chance of approaching Miroslav Klose’s all-time World Cup mark of 16, helped by the expanded 48-team tournament and a last-32 round.

Past tournaments have shown the fine margins involved: Kane’s penalty miss in the 2022 quarter-final was a defining moment he says made him mentally stronger.

England

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