England fly out to Germany today with captain Harry Kane insisting they are “on the right path” to win Euro 2024 and claim the country’s first trophy since 1966.
The Three Lions narrowly missed out three years ago, losing in the final of Euro 2020 to Italy on a penalty shoot-out, but go into this tournament as the bookmakers’ favourites.
It hasn’t been an entirely smooth build-up, though, with injury depriving coach Gareth Southgate of central defender Harry Maguire, doubts surrounding the fitness of the squad’s only specialist left-back Luke Shaw, and a demoralising final warm-up game display against Iceland which ended in a 1-0 defeat.
Nevertheless, Kane was bullish when asked about England’s chances.
He told The Guardian: “Being so close in the last Euros, there is a real hunger to be back.
“It comes around quick. We had the World Cup and we are back here again. I feel like we are on the right path. But as we all know as well, it is really difficult to win these tournaments.
“There are a lot of things that you have to do right and prepare right, and you need a bit of luck here and there. Every winner does. We have that mindset that we can achieve it. We also know there is a lot of hard work from now until the final in July.”
🤩 Just one week until our #EURO2024 campaign begins! pic.twitter.com/ynl2agEGxC
— England (@England) June 9, 2024
The defeat to Iceland was a real momentum killer, coming just four days after a 3-0 cruise against Bosnia-Herzegovina.
Bayern Munich striker Kane added: “Of course there will be some noise about it [losing to Iceland] but I think there is a lot of optimism from the fans and rightly so.
“Ultimately it is down to us to make sure we get it right on the pitch.
“This could be a nice wake-up call for everyone to realise it is not going to be as easy as people think. There is a lot of work to do.”
📰 Table Of Contents
Does England’s squad lack tournament know-how?
Half of England’s 26-strong party have no experience of playing in a major tournament but Kane does not feel that will be a factor.
“I think we have more than enough experience,” he said. “Especially a lot of players who have played in two or three tournaments. There are always going to be new players, players who deserve to be here. We have more than enough.
“Everyone has earned the right to be here. That is what we have said. Everyone brings something different to the team and we are going to need all 26 players if we are going to be successful. That is the message – that we are together.”
How do I watch England at Euro 2024?
All England’s games will be screened on either BBC or ITV. Find out how to tune in here.
