Kane declares 2026 World Cup his best ever chance to win it all with England

Harry Kane has declared the 2026 World Cup the best chance he will ever have to win a major international trophy, pointing to his current form and fitness as reasons for genuine optimism heading into his third global tournament.

Speaking to ITV Football, the England captain was candid about the uncertainty that comes with professional football, acknowledging that no player can take future tournaments for granted. “I think it’s always ‘it could be your last’ because you never know what happens in football,” Kane said. “You know what I’m like, I want to play for a long, long time. I feel in my prime, I feel as good as I’ve ever felt.”

That awareness of football’s unpredictability, rather than tempering his ambition, appears to sharpen it. “That hunger is there that, you know, it could be my last,” he added. “You never know with injuries what’s around the corner. The World Cup for me is the pinnacle of any career. This is my third tournament now.”

Kane arrived at the tournament on the back of an outstanding domestic season, and reinforced his status as England’s all-time leading scorer with a goal in last Saturday’s friendly against New Zealand — a strike that set a new historical milestone for the national team.

Drawing a direct line between his personal form and England’s collective prospects, he concluded: “The shape I’m in and also coming off the back of the season I’ve had is probably the best opportunity maybe I’ll get in my career to win the World Cup.”

England face one final warm-up against Costa Rica before turning their full attention to Group L. Kane and his teammates open their World Cup campaign against Croatia on June 17, before facing Ghana on June 23 and Panama on June 27.