Harry Kane has said this could be his best chance to win the World Cup, and it came with England closing camp on a behind-closed-doors 6-0 win over Miami United. The England captain was blunt about the stakes, saying this tournament may be his last and that he is in his prime. That is not empty talk either, because he has scored 6 goals in his last 5 matches.

Kane’s words match his form

Kane told independent.co.uk: “The World Cup, for me, is the pinnacle of any career. This is my third tournament now and I'll probably just say, the shape I'm in and coming off the season I've had it's probably the best opportunity I'll get in my career to win the World Cup.”

He was even more direct elsewhere, saying: “It could be your last because you never know what happens in football. You know what I'm like, I want to play for a long, long time. I feel in my prime, as fit as I've ever felt, that hunger is there but it could be my last.”

The numbers back that confidence. Kane has 6 goals in his last 5 matches, and his highest recent rating is a 10, including a 3-goal outing. For England, that matters because their recent World Cup sequence reads W-W-D-W-L, and the opening match against Croatia on Wednesday 17 June at Dallas Stadium in Texas is the first real check on whether this squad can turn a warm-up into something meaningful.

Toney and Ngumoha added noise to the session

The friendly itself was never meant to be the headline, but the scoreline and scorers made it impossible to ignore. I. Toney reportedly scored a hat-trick, including a spectacular goal from range, while 17-year-old Rio Ngumoha, who is not in England’s final 26-man squad, also scored from distance.

That is useful background, even if it should not be overstated. The session was behind closed doors and not a traditional 90-minute contest, so it should be read as a warm-up rather than a verdict. Still, a 6-0 win with Toney finishing sharply and Ngumoha hitting from range does at least suggest England ended camp in a decent attacking rhythm.

Jordan Henderson and Ethan Nwaneri were also part of the wider set-up around the camp, but Kane remains the key figure. If England are going to make this tournament count, they need the version of him that has been scoring at that rate for the last five matches, not the cautious version that waits for chances to come. The opening game against Croatia arrives on Wednesday 17 June.

Compiled by the ClutchBrief Desk with AI assistance, cross-checked against 1 outlet. How we work →