Harry Kane said leading England to win Euro 2024 on Monday morning AEST would be the “most incredible feeling” a footballer can have as he aims to end his own long wait to win a trophy.
The England captain has scored 406 goals for club and country in a decorated career without winning any collective silverware.
All that could change in Berlin this weekend should Kane guide England to a first major tournament win in 58 years to become European champions for the first time.
“It’s no secret that I haven’t won a team trophy. Every year that goes by, you’re more motivated and you’re more determined to change that,” Kane said at a pre-match press conference on Saturday.
“Tomorrow night I have the opportunity to win one of the biggest trophies you could ever win and to make history with my nation.
“I’d swap everything in my career to have a special night and a win tomorrow evening.”
Watch selected NRL, AFL, SSN games plus every F1 qualifying session and race live in 4K on Kayo. New to Kayo? Start Your Free Trial today >
Kane was on the losing side three years ago as England missed out on the Euros to Italy on penalties at Wembley.
Now into their first ever final on foreign soil, the Bayern Munich striker said England would be fuelled by the pain of defeat at Euro 2020.
“It would be, obviously, the most incredible feeling as a professional footballer you can get and I’m sure also for the fans, to have that moment in history and to be able to celebrate, that would be something very special,” added Kane.
“We’ve been here before and it was a tough finish in the last Euro. So there’s that extra hunger and fire in the belly to make sure this one goes our way.”
The two finalists have arrived in Berlin in contrasting fashion. Spain have looked a class apart in Germany, eliminating the hosts and France, as well as beating Italy and Croatia to become the first side to win all of their first six games at a Euros.
England, on the other hand, have had to battle back in all three of the knockout rounds against Slovakia, Switzerland and the Netherlands without ever delivering on the full potential of a richly-talented squad.
Kane, though, said England’s resilience to win, thanks to late goals and a penalty shootout against the Swiss in the quarter-finals, had fostered greater belief their time has come.
“You have to have a belief you can win it otherwise there’s no point in being in the tournament, but I think that belief has grown as we’ve gone through the tournament,” he added.
“What we’ve been through with the late goals and the penalty shootout and all that stuff builds resilience and builds belief.”