Next summer in Germany, the Three Lions will be among the favorites to win, and the captain hopes to finally convert that reputation into a victory.
Following his brace against Italy last night to ensure England’s qualifying for Euro 2024, Harry Kane feels that “it is time” for them to win a trophy.
England performed the double over the team who defeated them in the Euro 2020 final, securing their spot in Germany next summer with a 3-1 victory, after defeating the Italians in March in Naples.
Kane scored his 60th and 61st goals for his country while Marcus Rashford scored England’s second. The England captain is optimistic that a trophy might come shortly.
“We will be one of the favorites, for sure, and I think recent performances and performances in major tournaments have shown that”, Kane stated.
“We sometimes make things seem simple, but it’s not. We’ve discussed defeating powerful nations and doing it consistently over the past few years. To defeat Italy both at home and away demonstrates our progress.
The outcome, which Southgate was happy with, means that half of England’s triumphs over Italy in the previous 40 years had occurred in the previous seven months.
He observed, “The main thing for us is the attitude we have. “We need to continue winning important games like tonight.
“We are aware that the matches against the best countries are the ones in which we want to advance. For base camps and other things, we have been planning. The times when we didn’t do that are long gone.
Jude Bellingham, who took up where he left off with his new team Real Madrid, where 10 goals in his first 10 games have made the 20-year-old an immediate hit at the Bernabeu, put on one of the most confident individual performances of the evening.
“I keep saying it, but it’s his mentality that’s the key — he’s been a catalyst,” said Southgate. “What makes him different at such a young age is a mentality issue, a belief, and a determination. Talent is something you see a lot, but he has a tremendous presence. He has contributed to changing the team’s profile.
Harry Maguire and Jarrod Bowen, two of Bellingham’s teammates on the England national team, believe Bellingham to be the finest midfielder in the world right now.
Asked whether there is anyone better, Maguire said: “No chance. I’ve been speaking highly of Jude now for several years. For such a young boy to have a head on his shoulders and to be able to deal with it physically, he looks enormous out there, and that’s a credit to him.
“I am certain that he is modest and that he takes things in stride. Jude is capable of anything. He will be a huge, huge player for England, and I hope he keeps playing like this in Madrid.
I don’t believe there are any better midfielders, according to Bowen. Everyone was fantastic, even him.
