Harry Kane plays down England fitness concerns after Gareth Southgate admission

“I am getting better and better in each game, I have spoken in previous tournaments about the same thing about trying to make sure you come into your peak for the most important part of the tournament which is the knockouts.

“Time will tell, if we get knocked out a lot of questions will be asked but from my point of view it is important to go into this knockout stage feeling 100 percent and I feel I am there.

“If I’m honest with myself … have I played the best that I know I can? No. But I didn’t score in the group stage at the World Cup, I didn’t score in the group stage at the Euros. So from my point of view, it’s a bonus to be one goal ahead.

“But yeah, I’d always judge myself first and I know I can play better and I know a lot of players in the team think the same – that we can all play a little bit better. That’s what I do. I don’t panic. I don’t get too high or too low. I’ll keep doing what I do and just go onto the next one.”

HAVE YOUR SAY! What should be England’s line-up against Slovenia? Comment below.

Kane did admit that England so far at Euro 2024 had not been up to scratch. But he is confident that the Three Lions will finally find their feet in the final group game against Slovenia on Tuesday.

“I think both games playing against the back three caused us a bit of confusion on the pitch. We’d prepared before the game. But then I just think there were certain things where we couldn’t quite get the pressure that we wanted and we weren’t 100 per cent sure about when to go and it’s hard,” he added.

“I don’t think we were great with the ball which then led to feeling like you’re just running and constantly running. So it was tough to turn that momentum around. I think in the next game, I think it will pose a different threat because of the formation.

“It’s more likely going to be different from Slovenia. Hopefully we can show a bit more energy and enthusiasm, especially without the ball and I think that will help us with the ball as well.”

Join our new WhatsApp community and receive your daily dose of Mirror Football content. We also treat our community members to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners. If you don’t like our community, you can check out any time you like. If you’re curious, you can read our Privacy Notice.