Harry Kane has warned England face a “very dangerous” start to their Euros campaign.
England kick off against Serbia on Sunday and, even though they are ranked 33rd in FIFA’s world rankings, Kane insists they can make life very difficult.
Gareth Southgate ’s men are pre-tournament favourites but Kane warned that unless they start well then that tag will count for nothing. Three Lions captain Kane said: “They're a team that can hurt you if you're not set up correctly and defensively they're really strong.
“They make it difficult for us with their moves and they have tall players so they can be very dangerous. If we're not careful it could be a difficult game for us so we need to make sure we get that right.
“I think we have earned this favourites status through our tournaments so far. But we are also a team that has never won a EURO, so we are trying to make history here.
Pele fans sleep on streets and arrive 14 hours before funeral to pay respects
“It is a goal we want to achieve, but we know it will be a long, hard road. We have to make sure we do everything right because if you are not 100 percent in these tournaments, you can be punished.”
Kane is now England’s record goal scorer and they also have the likes of Jude Bellingham, Declan Rice and Phil Foden to give them a world class squad.
Bayern Munich star Kane believes it could be the best team he has been a part of and claims that even though they may lack experience some of the young players are “fearless.”
Kane said: “This squad is one of the best, if not the best, we've ever had when you look at the form and the respective leagues that many of us have played in.
Kane has warned his team-mates that Serbia - led by Aleksandar Mitrovic - will pose a serious threat (Getty Images)"We've got incredible young talent who are fearless and just want to play. I hope the guys can rely on me and ask me questions and if I can help them overcome something then that's great.
“But we have such a good bond, we're always talking to each other or having dinner together and there's always conversation and that helps us.
“Gareth had a really difficult decision to make because we have some very good attacking players. But for me personally it's fantastic.
“I want to play with players who can provide assists, who can score goals, who move well and who can get the ball in tight spaces, and we have all of that.
"Captaining England and leading the boys is probably the biggest privilege I can have as a player and I will never take that for granted. This feeling is truly unique. It's an honour to do this for the fourth time.
Kane will captain England in a major tournament for the fourth time (Visionhaus/Getty Images)“We've had a semi-final, a final and a quarter-final so I hope we can go all the way and win. We've had some really good moments, including myself, but ultimately we're here to win a EURO and hopefully we can do that.
FIFA chief Gianni Infantino criticised for impractical demand at Pele's funeral
“I'm excited. You're always excited, especially when you arrive in the host country, settle into the hotel and see where everything is.
“Hopefully this will be our camp for four or five weeks. As the days go by you get a bit nervous, the preparation starts and when you see the first game, Germany against Scotland, that's when it really starts. But at the moment everyone is pretty calm and excited.”
England are based near Erfurt in the luxury Spa & GolfResort Weimarer Land which Germany used for their Euros build-up and preparation before moving to their Adidas Football Centre base in Munich. But Kane revealed that Bayern team mate Thomas Muller left him a good luck note in his room for when he arrived.
Kane added: “Tommy left me a little message because they [the Germans] were here just a couple of weeks ago. He wrote to me saying the golf course was great but the weather wasn't so good.
“But the course looks fantastic, the hotel is incredible and being in Germany is a bit like a second home.
“The welcome I received when I arrived at Bayern was incredible and since I've been at the hotel, some of the staff have come up to me and greeted me. I'm not saying they want England to win but I think they have a little soft spot for us now that I'm here and that's fantastic.”
Read more similar news:
Comments:
comments powered by Disqus
