Harry Kane insists he is not feeling any pressure as the England captain edges closer to Wayne Rooney's goalscoring record.
The 28-year-old striker hit the 50-goal mark for England when he scored from the spot to rescue a point against Germany in the 1-1 Nations League draw.
The rest of this current squad have 49 goals between them and manager Gareth Southgate said after the goalless stalemate with Italy on Saturday that he was “concerned” by the reliance on both Kane and Raheem Sterling to score the goals for England.
But Tottenham Hotspur attacker Kane, who is now just three shy of Wayne Rooney’s all-time mark going into Tuesday's Nations League game against Hungary at Molineux, has also backed his teammates to get back among the goals.
When asked if the pressure of beating Rooney's record had had any affect on his own form, Kane said: “As a striker you have that expectation of yourself and the team have it on you to produce as well.
“I enjoy scoring goals and winning games. That’s the most important thing. I always try to do my best to help the team in every aspect, whether it’s scoring, assists, defending, set-plays.
“There’s no pressure from the other players in terms of making me feel nervous about scoring.
“We all know our responsibilities and our jobs and I try to take that responsibility as one of the experienced players. I just enjoy scoring goals.”
And as for the lack of goals from his teammates, Kane added: "If you look over the last two or three years, we’ve definitely had goals in different areas in terms of set-plays, defenders getting goals, midfielders picking up goals.
England 0 Italy 0: player ratings
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ENGLAND RATINGS: Aaron Ramsdale - 7, Made a brilliant save to deny Sandro Tonali, then pushed Matteo Pessina’s shot over the crossbar. Was lucky to get away with a poor pass that was cut out by Tonali. AP -
Reece James - 7, Defended well and positive going forward, notably putting in good deliveries to set up Jack Grealish and Raheem Sterling. Getty -
Fikayo Tomori - 7, Looked confident in his first England start and was astute in his defensive work, notably making a good block to deny Pessina in the first half. Had one scare when he lost the ball near the halfway line, but later made a brilliant challenge on Wilfried Gnonto. AFP -
Harry Maguire - 7, Some of his early passing was off, but he mostly defended well and cleaned up under pressure from Gianluca Scamacca when an Italian ball was played behind. Was alert when Ramsdale’s pass was cut out by Tonali. Getty -
Kieran Trippier - 7, Did a good job defensively and made some intelligent passes, with one getting Mason Mount into a promising crossing position. Did just enough to deny Giovanni Di Lorenzo when the ball was clipped to the back post. Reuters -
James Ward-Prowse - 7, Showed his intelligence by taking up some good defensive positions and moved the ball well at times. Hit a shot from range that swerved wide. Was booked for a sliding tackle on Pessina. PA -
Declan Rice - 8, While he couldn’t cap off his performance with a goal after hitting a volley over the crossbar, Rice provided an impressive display. He put in a lot of good defensive work, drove forward well and passed the ball nicely. AFP -
Raheem Sterling - 5, Played a perfectly timed pass for Mount’s attempt that hit the crossbar but missed a superb chance to put England ahead following James’ pinpoint cross. Had a decent shot saved well. Getty -
Mason Mount - 6, Hit the bar after brilliant link-up play with Sterling, but hit two efforts straight at Gianluigi Donnarumma. Played some nice passes to build up the play. AFP -
Jack Grealish - 5, Provided some lovely touches and moved the ball well but struggled to provide the end product, seeing a weak shot blocked by Federico Gatti. Booked for a lunge on Gatti moments after that. Tried to make things happen in the second half but couldn’t get the better of Italy’s defence. Getty -
Tammy Abraham - 6, Did well to shut down Donnarumma but couldn’t quite reap the rewards after winning back possession in the Italian box. Showed persistence despite some painful moments. Getty -
SUBS: Harry Kane (Abraham, 65’) - 6, Couldn’t find the target after doing brilliantly to work space in the box and struggled to make any other openings despite moving the ball well. Reuters -
Kalvin Phillips (Rice, 65’) - 6, Did well to hold up Pessina when Tomori lost the ball, then won the ball in his own box well. Some of his passes were a bit off. Getty -
Jarrod Bowen (Mount, 65’) - 6, Was direct with the ball at his feet and also pressed well from the moment he was introduced. PA -
Bukayo Saka (Sterling, 79’) – N/R, Took up good positions but couldn’t quite turn that into something threatening. Reuters -
Marc Guehi (Tomori, 88’) – N/R, Looked calm after coming on and help England keep their clean sheet. AFP -
ITALY RATINGS: Gianluigi Donnarumma - 6, Looked uncomfortable with ball at his feet and was lucky not to be punished after conceding possession in his own box. Wasn’t forced into too many difficult saves. AFP -
Giovanni Di Lorenzo - 8, Was effective in both attack and defence, delivering some brilliant crosses including the one to create Tonali’s opportunity. PA -
Federico Gatti - 8, Making his Italy debut, he looked a bit too keen to make an impression in the early stages but soon settled. He made a good block to deny Grealish, then did well to stop the winger’s pass to Sterling. Was booked for a foul on Sterling early in the second half. PA -
Francesco Acerbi - 7, Solid defensively, doing especially well in some of his aerial duels. Impressively halted Bowen on the edge of his own box when the winger ran at him. Getty -
Federico Dimarco – 7, Put in some good defensive work against Sterling and ran with the ball impressively. Was unlucky to see nobody attack his superb delivery across the box. Getty -
Davide Frattesi - 6, Showed good energy and moved the ball well but put a golden opportunity wide inside the opening two minutes. Getty -
Manuel Locatelli - 7, Did well to marshal Abraham wide after Donnarumma conceded possession in his own box and moved the ball well, while he saw an effort from range saved. Was booked for going through the back of Mount. Getty -
Sandro Tonali - 7, Moved the ball nicely and was unlucky to see his effort saved well after getting into the box. Used his body to help him disrupt English play. Was given a late booking for fouling Bowen in a dangerous position. Getty -
Matteo Pessina - 6, Showed plenty of intelligence in his first half play to cause England problems, doing well to create the chance for Scamacca. Had a shot saved by Ramsdale after cutting in. Was quieter in the second half. AFP -
Gianluca Scamacca - 5, Offered very little in terms of build-up play in the first half and blazed a shot comfortably over the crossbar from a good opportunity. His general play improved in the second period but he still couldn’t trouble Ramsdale. AFP -
Lorenzo Pellegrini - 7, Played some wonderful passes, including ones to create chances for Frattesi, Pessina and Di Lorenzo. Also made some good bursts forward. Getty -
SUBS: Salvatore Esposito (Pellegrini, 64’) - 6, Looked comfortable after being introduced and moved the ball confidently. Getty -
Wilfried Gnonto (Locatelli, 64’) - 6, Came close to causing problems and hit the side netting with a shot from a tight angle. AFP -
Giacomo Raspadori (Scamacca, 77’) – N/R, Bought a free-kick in his own box to relieve the pressure from a corner but struggled to do much in the attacking third. EPA -
Alessandro Florenzi (Dimarco, 87’) – N/R, Came on to help Italy see out the clean sheet and earn a point. Getty -
Bryan Cristante (Pessina, 87’) – N/R, Made a strong header to clear Ward-Prowse’s late free-kick delivery. PA
“But I think in any team, any top team, you’re going to have a main striker who gets the majority of the goals, a main attacking winger who’s going to get some goals.
“I’m sure every lad who puts on an England shirt wants to go out and score and get assists and affect the game so I guess the most important thing is the mentality, to have that hunger to go and get those goals and that’s kind of what I speak to my team-mates about – getting in the box, the back post, midfield runners getting in there, that’s really important.
“I think going into major tournament football, we’ve done that pretty well. But look, we’re still learning, still improving, the boys are eager to score as many goals as possible and help the team out.”
England’s 25-man squad all took part in the session held at Wolves’ Sir Jack Hayward Training Ground on the eve of the fixture, but Phil Foden needs assessing again after his slow recovery from Covid-19.
“They’ve all got to be checked post-training, one or two bumps and bruises but we’ll assess them over the rest of the day but everybody was on the training pitch so that’s a good sign,” Southgate said.
“We have to chat with our physical performance guys and medical team because he’s back in training but there’s a reality as to how much conditioning he’s had over the last three weeks and what our expectation of him could be so we’ll do that.”
The only outfield player to have been fit for every fixture this month but not feature is Conor Gallagher, who is in line to win his fourth cap on Tuesday.
Germany 1 England 1: player ratings
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GERMANY RATINGS: Manuel Neuer 7 - Made one incredible stop, maybe slightly lucky in terms of it pinging off his hip, when he got himself across his goal to deny Harry Kane with 15 minutes to go. Looked comfortable for the most part, more so than some outfield players while in possession. AP -
Lukas Klostermann 6 - The RB Leipzig man looked comfortable defending against Sterling and Kane and covered well when others were caught out of possession. EPA -
Antonio Rudiger 6 - The Real Madrid signing made some good blocks and interceptions, many of the things he did well for Chelsea, but doesn’t always look comfortable in possession. Did enough to limit most of England’s chances to shots from distance, so did his job. Reuters -
Nico Schlotterbeck 6 - Dortmund’s new signing accidentally came together with Kane with six minutes remaining and conceded the penalty that gave England the equaliser. Defended well against Kane for the most part and limited the Tottenham man to half chances, but didn’t use the ball particularly well. EPA -
Jonas Hofmann 8 - The midfielder received a pass from Kimmich a couple of yards inside the England penalty area, controlled and swivelled all in one movement before smashing the ball past Pickford. Caused England’s defenders problems all night with his well timed forward runs from midfield. Getty Images -
Joshua Kimmich 7 - Played the decisive pass for the goal when he zipped the ball into Hofmann’s feet. A high energy display showcasing his pressing ability to stifle Rice and Belllingham in the England midfield. PA -
Ilkay Gundogan 6 - A quiet night for the Manchester City schemer, but still kept the play ticking over in the German midfield and continually tested the full-backs by attempting to slide balls up the inside of Trippier and Walker. PA -
David Raum 7 - Worked well with Musiala as Germany created problems for England down that side. Lovely cross that he stood up to the back post for a Havertz chance in the first half. AP Photo -
Thomas Muller 6 - A quiet night by his standards, but still showed enough quality to cause England concern when he got on the ball in the attacking third. Reuters -
Jamal Musiala 8 - Stung Pickford's hands with a solid strike in the first minute as Germany signalled their intent early on. The Bayern Munich winger had a willingness to drive at the visitors and produced an end product with multiple shots and crosses. Man of the match. EPA -
Kai Havertz 7 - Should’ve done better with a header when he rose above Kieran Trippier at the back post 10 minutes before half time. Overall though, did enough to cause Maguire and Stones plenty of problems. EPA -
SUBS: Serge Gnarby 5 - The Bayern Munich winger who could be on his way to Arsenal replaced goalscorer Hofmann on 65 mins. Reuters -
Timo Werner 5 - Came on for Jamal Musiala with 25 minutes to go. The Chelsea man looked lively and caused England some problems down that right hand side. EPA -
Leon Goretzka N/A - Replaced Muller on 76 minutes and almost got in on a couple of occasions. EPA -
Leroy Sane N/A - On for Gundogan with seven minutes remaining. Had a couple of runs as Germany pushed for the winner. Getty -
ENGLAND RATINGS: Jordan Pickford 4 - Got a hand to Hofmann’s strike which was straight at him, but somehow almost dived out of the way and couldn’t keep it out. Good stop at the near post from Muller, but also a save you’d expect a goalkeeper to make. Did well to deny Werner on the counter. Shouted a lot. Action Images -
Kyle Walker 6 - Vital piece of defending after only two minutes when got in front of Musiala at the back post and somehow flicked the ball over his own cross bar from a yard out. Defended well apart from suspect positioning for the goal when he should’ve recognised the danger. Getty Images -
John Stones 5 - Did OK. Didn’t make any glaring errors, but didn’t really assert himself on the match either. Reuters -
Harry Maguire 3 - The Manchester United defender got lucky in the first half when he got himself tangled up with Havertz and the ball bounced through to Hofmann who was in an offside position. Posted missing for Hofmann’s goal when he inexplicably wandered out of position. Reuters -
Kieran Trippier 6 - Did just enough to deny Havertz’s opening the scoring with a header at the far post when the Chelsea striker looked to have the leverage and momentum as he rose above the Newcastle United defender. He also made some timely recovery challenges and interceptions as Germany tried to slide balls between himself and Maguire down England’s left hand side. AFP -
Declan Rice 5 - Made a bad decision to vacate his slot in front of the defence as Germany attacked for their goal, which had a knock on effect for Harry Maguire and Kyle Walker’s equally poor decisions thereafter. The West Ham skipper worked tirelessly as always and had a better second half, but didn’t really click with Bellingham in the England engine room. AP Photo -
Kalvin Phillips N/A - It’s been an injury riddled season for the Leeds midfielder, and unfortunately, he didn’t last a quarter-of-an-hour here after sustaining an injury in an accidental clash with Schlotterbeck. Replaced by Jude Bellingham. Reuters -
Bukayo Saka 5 - Showed good feet to make half a yard on the right to unleash in a fierce strike which Neuer dealt with well. England's best and only chance of the first half was followed minutes later when the Arsenal man cut in from the right and had Neuer scrambling to cover a powerful curling left foot effort from the edge of the box. Reuters -
Mason Mount 6 - Forgot the Chelsea midfielder was on the pitch until he slid in Saka for a near post strike. Tested Neuer from distance just after the England goal, but the Bayern Munich stopper dived to his right to make a good save. Was more involved and looked dangerous early in the second half as he tried to take a hold of the gam. Getty Images -
Raheem Sterling 4 - A quiet night for the Manchester City forward and he was replaced by Bowen with 10 minutes remaining. He didn’t do much to affect the game for the 80 odd minutes he was on the pitch. PA -
Harry Kane 6 - Got a bit lucky when he felt Schlotterbeck’s contact for the penalty and VAR asked referee Carlos del Cerro Grande to take another look. Dispatched the spot kick, sending Manuel Neuer the wrong way for his 50th international goal. EPA -
SUBS: Jude Bellingham 6 - Replaced the injured Kalvin Philips after 14 minutes. Gave possession away far too easily and on too many occasions and was unable to play the simple pass. AFP -
Jack Grealish 6 - Initiated a bit of a momentum shift when he came on for Mason Mount on 73 minutes. The City schemer injected some positivity into another flat English display, creating chances with positive runs and dangerous balls into the Germany penalty area. Getty -
Jarrod Bowen 6 - Replaced Sterling with 10 minutes remaining. Looked lively and rifled an excellent ball across the face of the German six yard box that was just begging to be put away. EPA
