Harry Kane heads into the World Cup with one final challenge at the end of the finest season of his outstanding career: leading England to the trophy that has eluded them for six decades.
The 32-year-old remains England’s most important player, a status reinforced when Thomas Tuchel’s side looked blunt in March friendlies against Uruguay and Japan at Wembley.
Without Kane, England lacked cutting edge - and that will make his fitness Tuchel’s biggest concern before their opening World Cup match against Croatia in Dallas on 17 June.
Kane is already England’s all-time leading scorer, with 78 goals in 112 appearances, but his value goes far beyond the numbers.
There is simply no other striker in the squad who offers his combination of finishing, creativity, leadership and experience.
After scoring an astonishing 66 goals in 56 games for Bayern Munich this season, Kane arrives in remarkable form.
If he stays fit, England’s chances of ending their long wait for a major men’s trophy will rise sharply. If he does not, their hopes could quickly fade.
Former England striker Chris Sutton summed up Kane’s importance, saying England’s World Cup prospects would immediately look far bleaker if he were unavailable.
Silverware has finally arrived late in Kane’s career after years of near misses at Tottenham.
He has now won back-to-back Bundesliga titles with Bayern and added the German Cup, scoring a hat-trick in the 3-0 final win over Stuttgart.
Now his focus turns to the biggest prize of all.
Kane has already suffered heartbreak with England, losing European Championship finals to Italy and Spain, falling to Croatia in the 2018 World Cup semi-final and missing a crucial penalty in the 2022 quarter-final defeat by France.
This tournament offers him another chance to change the story.
Former England goalkeeper Paul Robinson believes Kane is irreplaceable, despite the presence of Ivan Toney and Ollie Watkins in the squad.
“Kane is one player England can’t do without,” Robinson said.
“Captain. Talisman. Leader. He’s all of those.”
Kane’s major tournament record has had highs and lows. He endured a poor Euro 2016, won the Golden Boot at the 2018 World Cup, helped England reach the Euro 2020 final, and still finished as joint top scorer at Euro 2024 despite not being at his best.
This time, however, his form and fitness suggest he could be ready to dominate.
Kane also has the chance to become England’s leading World Cup scorer. He currently has eight goals in 11 appearances at the tournament, just two behind Gary Lineker’s national record of 10.
His wider career numbers place him firmly among the world’s best strikers.
Since his breakthrough season at Tottenham in 2014-15, Kane has never scored fewer than 24 goals in a campaign.
His consistency has been extraordinary.
Robinson believes Kane belongs in the same conversation as Erling Haaland and may even be the more complete forward, while Sutton praised his intelligence, movement and all-round influence.
Kane has already claimed the European Golden Shoe and is expected to be a major contender for the Ballon d’Or.
Bayern’s Champions League exit to Paris Saint-Germain may have denied him another trophy, but it has done little to diminish what has been a sensational season.
For England, everything now revolves around their captain.
If Kane can carry his Bayern form into the World Cup, Tuchel’s side may finally have the leader capable of delivering the glory English football has waited for since 1966.
