Kane defends England from over-reliance criticism

Harry Kane disagrees with comments stating England are over-reliant on the striker heading into the World Cup.

England’s World Cup campaign begins on June 17 against Croatia, with the Three Lions looking to end their 60-year wait for the trophy.

Kane enters the tournament in outstanding form, having scored 61 goals for Bayern Munich this season (not including the Club World Cup) and scoring 11 goals in as many games for England.

After scoring against New Zealand in their warm-up last time out, Kane has now scored against 35 different countries, with this seven more than the player with the next most teams scored against (Wayne Rooney – 28).

His tally could rise to 36 when the Three Lions take on Costa Rica on Wednesday in their final warm-up game, and many would back the talisman to do so.

Kane has scored in 62% of England’s games under Thomas Tuchel (8/13); of those with at least two matches in charge of the Three Lions, this is the highest percentage of a manager’s games that a player has netted in.

However, the 32-year-old believes it is just his responsibility to score as a striker.

“Any top striker in the team, there’s going to be a reliance on them,” Kane told ITV Sport.

Final preparations #ThreeLions | @EASPORTSFC pic.twitter.com/VwCinTn9G0

— England (@England) June 9, 2026

“Erling [Haaland] with Norway, [Kylian] Mbappe with France, when you have a main goalscorer in your team, you’re expected to score.

“That’s not a bad thing. We have goals in the other areas of the team, we also have great winners in the team, most people have had successful seasons in terms of winning trophies and that’s an important factor.

“People might say it’s a reliance on me, but that’s a responsibility I’ve had my whole career.”