As 2018 draws to a close, we’ll be hearing from some of the England squad on what their highlights of the year were.
For Three Lions captain Harry Kane, there’s no shortage of options whether that’s leading out England at the World Cup, scoring his first goal on the biggest international stage, taking home the Golden Boot, firing his team to the UEFA Nations League semi-final against Croatia or being named an MBE in the New Year Honours.
And as we approach 2019, the Spurs striker took some time out to go through his favourite England memories from the last 12 months.
“It’s been a great year, with obviously the World Cup being the main part of it,” said Kane.
“There’s been some great moments, and some tough ones too, but overall it’s been a positive year and hopefully we can have a few more like that.”
Kane’s first highlight was the opening goal against Tunisia in the group stages, his first World Cup strike.
“It was a special moment,” he recalls. “My first target going into it was to score a goal in a World Cup, and it came pretty early in the first game and was an easy goal as well, which was nice.
“And my second goal, to win that Tunisia game, was a massive turning point for us. It gave everyone a massive boost.
“The Colombia game sticks out to me as a game I’ll never forget, with so many emotions, highs and lows.
“Conceding that last-minute goal was heart-breaking but we knew we had to do the job and even going behind in the penalty shootout, no-one really panicked and we stuck to the game plan and thankfully we came through it.”
While Kane and his team-mates were in their own World Cup bubble at England's basecamp in Repino, the rest of the nation were in full-on World Cup fever.
And it’s that aspect of what the squad’s performances meant back home which Kane was also keen to recall.
“It made us very proud to see it all,” he added.
“Everyone I spoke to when we got back said we don’t realise how much of an effect it had.
“It was a big part of what we wanted to do. I’ve been a fan in a pub before and we wanted them to have a good summer as well.
“We want to go on and win a Euros or a World Cup over the next ten or 15 years.”
Does Harry get your vote for the England Men’s Senior player of the year in 2018? Voting is now underway for members of the England Supporters Club, which is FREE to join.
