Harry Kane has urged his England teammates to grab the opportunity to emulate the country's 1966 World Cup heroes "with both hands" as they prepare to take on Italy in Sunday's Euro 2020 final.
Tottenham striker and Three Lions captain Kane will lead his side out against the Azzurri at Wembley as the national team chases only a second major international title.
It was put to Kane, 27, on Friday that England winning on Sunday would lead to comparisons between him and Bobby Moore, captain of the 1966 team.
And Kane told reporters: “Whenever your name is mentioned in the same company as players like that, it only gives you motivation, gives you confidence.
“Of course it would be an incredible achievement. We’ve all waited so long as players, as public, as people to see us in a final. So these are the opportunities you have to grab with both hands.
“We have an amazing chance to win our second major trophy as a country. The players we’ve had over the years and produced, we feel proud to be representing them as well.
“We’ve got to be excited for it, we’ve got to enjoy it, but of course, any football match, we’re all winners here, we all want to win, and we’re going to need every bit of that to get the job done on Sunday.”
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Manuel Locatelli during Italy's training session at Centro Tecnico Federale di Coverciano in Florence ahead of their Euro 2020 final against England. -
Alessandro Florenzi during Italy's training session at Centro Tecnico Federale di Coverciano. -
Gaetano Castrovill trains for the Euro 2020 final. -
Andrea Belotti of Italy trains at Centro Tecnico Federale di Coverciano. -
Gianluigi Donnarumma trains for the Euro 2020 final against England. -
Giacomo Raspadori during Italy's training session. -
Italy's training session at Centro Tecnico Federale di Coverciano.
Asked if he had allowed himself to imagine what it would be like to lift the trophy at Wembley, Kane said: “I think for sure as players you think of that moment, you dream of that moment.
“Obviously we’re all grounded enough to know we have a very tough game on our hands on Sunday. But there’s a good belief in this team.
“We came close a few years ago [reaching the semi-finals of the 2018 World Cup], so to bounce back in this tournament and go one step further has been a great sign, a great mentality that we’ve created. But of course, we all want to win.
“You dream of these moments as a kid, lifting trophies for your country, and we have that opportunity now.”
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A man walks past England flags decking out Kirby Estate in London's East End. England's football team take on Italy in the Euro 2020 final on Sunday. -
Children from Button Lane Primary School in Wythenshawe, Greater Manchester, in northern England, show their support for former pupil and England forward Marcus Rashford. -
England 1966 World Cup winner Geoff Hurst stands on top of a pod on the London Eye wearing a replica of the famous red shirt worn at the 1966 final. -
A woman and her dog show their support for the national team on Kirby Estate in London's East End. -
The lead-up to the Euro 2020 final dominates the front pages of newspapers on sale at a supermarket in south London. -
Pedestrians walk down Wembley Way, at London's Wembley Stadium, on Friday afternoon. On Sunday, almost 65,000 fans will attend the final. -
A London restaurant shows its support for both England and Italy – though with Italian tricolours in the majority – ahead of Sunday's Euro 2020 showdown. -
England fans celebrate in Piccadilly Circus in central London, after Wednesday's 2-1 semi-final victory over Denmark. -
Meerkats display their footballing allegiances at ZSL London Zoo. -
England fans show their support for the team outside Wembley Stadium on Friday.
Kane, whose four goals at the tournament put him one behind Cristiano Ronaldo and Patrick Schick in the race for the Golden Boot, described Sunday's match as “the biggest game in my career so far".
“It’s a real 50-50 game I think,” said the Tottenham striker. “From our point of view we have full belief in what we have been doing and how we have been setting up, and of course we believe we can win the game. But we also know it will be very tough. They’ve got some great players, some great experience.
“In any final, in any big game, you have to be on it on all aspects. We know that’s the case on Sunday and hopefully we can swing it in our favour.”
Kane also praised England boss Gareth Southgate, saying: “First and foremost he’s a great person, not just manager – a great person to talk to. He’s a great leader, he’s calm in situations, he’s strong-minded in what he wants to do and where he wants the team to be.”
And regarding England supporters, he added: “Of course a few years ago it was about reconnecting with the fans, and in Russia we definitely did that.
“But then to continue that, and carry on the way we have…Obviously going into a tournament where we play a lot of games at home, it was important to have that connection and we definitely feel like we’ve had that.
“They’ll all be cheering us on around the country and we just can’t wait to hopefully try to win the game for them.”
