MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. – As the World Cup nears its final week, the tournament is only inching towards the moment of crowning glory for a national team talented enough to win the ultimate prize. The last games of this summer's competition are also expected to be a showcase for a batch of world-renowned talents who have already cemented their status as generational greats but will also chase a title that will only be theirs to keep -- the greatest goalscorer the World Cup has ever seen.
The most riveting golden boot race in some time has been a defining feature of this World Cup and will be a central focus on Saturday at Hard Rock Stadium, where England's Harry Kane and Norway's Erling Haaland will hope to add their goal tally in a high-stakes quarterfinal that may ultimately be the most riveting game of the last eight. Kane has six heading into the clash while Haaland has seven, both behind joint top scorers, France's Kylian Mbappe and Argentina's Lionel Messi with eight each.
Kane said Friday he has used the others as motivation, but only as a means to an end.
"It's been an amazing World Cup on that front in terms of all the top strikers, all the top goalscorers scoring goals, affecting games," the 2018 World Cup golden boot winner said on Friday. "It's not always the case at these major tournaments. I think all the fans, the media, I think they're enjoying watching it. From my point of view, I think it's great competition. It puts me in the mindset to be at my very best level as much as possible. My main goal is to win the World Cup with England, not the golden boot, but I also know I'm a goalscorer, I'm a No. 9, so if I'm scoring goals, it's obviously going to help the team, so I'm enjoying being on the pitch. Since the very start of this tournament, I feel in a great place, and every day that comes, I'm just excited to be out there with my teammates and [at] the opportunity to be successful again."
Kane, who is already one of the World Cup's greatest all-time goalscorers with 14, has been a focal point for England in more ways than one and at 32 is perhaps a more complete version of himself than he's ever been.
"I'm running out of words, I'm running out of different ways to describe him," England head coach Thomas Tuchel said. "He's our leader. He's our captain. He leads by example. He's in the shape of his life and on the highest peak of his career, which helps us a lot. He has the mindset of a team player who is ready to lead by example and push everybody, like I said, and always ready to take responsibility, always ready to perform and help us and so it's a privilege to have him as captain and a privilege to be his coach."
Kane's impressive World Cup form comes on the back of an impressive season with Bayern Munich, scoring 61 goals in 51 games across all competitions. He equalled his personal best in the Bundesliga alone with 36, the move to the German giants only working in his favor three seasons in.
"To join an environment like Bayern Munich where it's, every day, about winning, it just shapes your mentality," Tuchel said. "The club has this mentality of accepting nothing else than the best, nothing else than a win just everywhere in the building and it's just the mentality of these kinds of clubs, the same for Real Madrid and the same for a lot of my players who play in these kinds of clubs."
Kane's upward trajectory, he hopes, lines up with England's. Now at his third World Cup and at the end of his peak career years, he admitted he would like to see the experience translate into a long-awaited second World Cup title with a mix of talented players that span a few different generations and after an impressive track record in recent years. England made the World Cup semifinals in 2018 and the quarterfinals in 2022, all while playing in the Euro final in the pandemic-delayed 2021 edition and the 2024 tournament.
"I think 2018, we were the young, inexperienced team going into that Russia World Cup," he reflected. "We didn't have much expectation of us as a squad. We still had belief amongst ourselves that we could do something special, but I think coming off the back of two major finals in the last three tournaments … I think a lot of these players have played in big games, in big moments. I think we're more prepared for this situation, but as we always know, you still have to go out there and perform at your highest level. We're at the stage of the tournament now where any small difference, any percent you're not with it can be the big difference."
Standing in his way, at least on the goalscoring front, is Haaland. The Norway star has hit the ground running in his first World Cup and will be key if the Vikings are to upset one of the favorites to win the tournament, and though Kane noticed their similarities, he was also quick to point out their differences.
"First of all, I think we're completely different players," he said. "Erling has been incredible. His goalscoring record, he's physically a machine, his finishing is at the highest level and his goalscoring record speaks for itself. I see myself as a different player. Even though I score the same goals, I like to maybe touch the ball a little bit more, be involved in play a little bit more, but also I play as an out-and-out [No.] 9."
The fact that the golden boot race is the headlining act of Saturday's quarterfinal, though, was not lost on him.
"I don't think it's one to compare ourselves," he said. "I respect him a lot as a player as well as a professional. I'm obviously hoping he has a quiet day tomorrow, but I think his overall performances in recent years speak for themselves. He's a fantastic player."
