Harry Kane can break Wayne Rooney’s competitive goal record for England this weekend as Tottenham star labelled better Three Lions captain
Harry Kane has the opportunity to surpass Wayne Rooney’s competitive goal scoring record for England during the international break.
The Three Lions travel to face Andorra at Estadi Nacional this Saturday, followed by a return trip to Wembley for their encounter against Hungary on Tuesday night.
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Kane has endured a tough start to the current campaign as he failed to register a single goal in the Premier League following the speculation linking him with a move to Man City.
He has scored six times this season but that has been against lesser opposition in the Europa Conference League and Carabao Cup.
The timing of the international break has arrived nicely for the Tottenham striker to regain his goal scoring momentum and a chance for him to break further milestones.
Breaking multiple goalscoring records is a continuous theme in his career, but no trophies yet to show for it.
The three-time Premier League Golden Boot winner currently stands with 36 goals in competitive internationals, clearly demonstrating his influence on the national team and shining on the biggest occasions.
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Rooney holds the record (37) but there is no denying that Kane has set his sight in breaking his record in the upcoming games.
England manager Gareth Southgate reaffirmed his faith in the England’s striker’s ability to deliver big game performances on the pitch.
“Every couple of months I think I sit here and have to answer similar questions and then Harry goes out and scores a load of goals for us,” said Southgate.
“It’s the life of being a high-profile player. You’ve got to accept that there’s going to be that speculation and that intensity of analysis of your performances.
“Last month we had three games, he played in all three and scored a goal in each. From our perspective, he continues to be such a critical part of what we do and an important player, and I’m sure he’s going to be highly motivated when he comes to see us next week.
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“He’s closing in on a number of incredible goal scorers. We obviously had the sad news about Jimmy Greaves in the last couple of weeks and you know how he is in those echelons of incredible names who have scored a lot of goals for England.”
The former Middlesbrough manager added: “He’s got a lot of personal motivation with that but of course he also will recognise we still [need] eight points minimum to qualify for the World Cup and we’ve got a job to do in that regard.”
Rooney is still 13 goals ahead of Kane (40) for the overall England record, but it may be a case of when and not if he beats the former Manchester United striker’s tally of 53.
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The topic of Rooney and Kane was discussed on White and Jordan on talkSPORT and Trevor Sinclair outlined why he thinks the Tottenham man is a better captain for his country.
“When you are talking about defining moments and what you’ve achieved at international level, it’s definitely Harry Kane,” said Sinclair.
“He’s been to the semi-final of the World Cup, final of the Euros and he’s been in a much more successful English national team than Wayne Rooney was.
The former QPR and West Ham winger added: “When you look at the England squad, how progressive it’s been since Gareth Southgate took over and how the performances and results have improved and the distance and depth in which they’ve got into tournaments. I have to say Harry Kane has been the better captain.”
Listen to England’s two World Cup qualifiers against Andorra on Saturday and Hungary on Tuesday live on talkSPORT.