Why Kane would ‘rather be Giroud’ than match Messi & Mbappe

Harry Kane Olivier Giroud Lionel Messi 2026

Harry Kane will not be paying any attention to the 2026 World Cup exploits of Lionel Messi and Kylian Mbappe, Danny Mills has told GOAL, as England’s record goalscorer would “rather be Olivier Giroud”. The prolific Bayern Munich striker has already opened his account in North America, alongside several other household names, but will forever prioritise collective success over any individual accolades.

Kane has multiple Golden Boots to his name

Kane has plenty of those to his name. As the greatest marksman that Tottenham have ever seen, three Golden Boots were picked up during his time in the Premier League. Three more have been added to his collection, across as many seasons, while becoming a two-time Bundesliga title winner.

A history-making tally of goals for England has been taken to 81, through 115 appearances, with a brace being recorded against Croatia last time out. A twice-taken penalty and soaring header saw the Three Lions’ captain provide attacking inspiration once again.

Prior to Thomas Tuchel’s side getting their quest for global glory up and running, Kane had been watching on from afar as Messi, Mbappe and Erling Haaland all illuminated the grandest of stages - finding the target on seven occasions between them for Argentina, France and Norway.

England v Croatia: Group L - FIFA World Cup 2026

Will Kane be watching Messi, Mbappe and Haaland?

Quizzed on whether those exploits will have provided Kane with any added motivation, as he stepped under the brightest of spotlights, former England defender Mills - speaking on behalf of betTOM - told GOAL: “Personally, I don't think so. I don't think he's motivated by that. I think he just wants to score. I think he just wants to score as many goals as possible. He wants England to win.

“I don't think he's really that bothered. You could say to Harry Kane, would you rather have a Golden Boot and get knocked out in the quarter-final or would you rather be Olivier Giroud and win the World Cup and not score? I think Harry Kane would be in that second category.

“I think there would be some world-class strikers that might go the other way. Sometimes it's about personal goals, sometimes that outweighs the team. Obviously, they want both but some of them are a bit more selfish.

“I don't think Harry Kane's like that in the slightest. He'll have seen what those other players have done. I don't think he's fazed by that at all. I think he's very, very comfortable in his own skin and that's not an issue for him. I think he's motivated by just wanting to score and wanting to get as many goals and win as many games for England as possible.”

England picked a squad that allows Kane to drop deep

Tuchel is considered to have built his World Cup attack around Kane, with other forwards being picked that complement the 32-year-old and his desire to drop deep. That system worked almost perfectly against Croatia, with the likes of Jude Bellingham, Bukayo Saka and Marcus Rashford happy to run beyond their skipper.

Asked about Kane’s penchant for wandering, Mills said: “I think that's always going to be the case. Harry Kane has never been blessed with pace, so it's not like he's lost a yard of pace. He's always been incredibly intelligent in the way that he plays.

“He often plays as a number 9, as a 10, as a 9.5 if you like, dropping into those positions. So, to do that, you do need pace in the wing areas. You have to stretch the game in some way, shape or form. So, you need those players that are going to run in behind.

“Bellingham will do that, Saka, [Noni] Madueke will do that - Rashford and [Anthony] Gordon on the other side will do that and stretch the game, which allows Kane to drop into those positions. That's just fairly standard football. It's not particularly rocket science being able to do that.

“Sometimes, obviously, it's not always easy to execute that because you have an opposition trying to stop you and dictate the tempo of play. I think the only concern is that Harry Kane is our focal point. If anything happens to Harry, you do start to wonder where we go from there.”

Harry Kane England 2026

World Cup 2026: Can the Three Lions roar?

England have been accused of becoming overreliant on Kane, given his remarkable record and ability to almost single-handedly shoulder the goalscoring burden at times. Bellingham and Rashford did, however, chip in against Croatia.

If the Three Lions are to truly roar this summer, bringing 60 years of hurt to a close, then Kane will lead the way and should go close to another Golden Boot - allowing more history to be made there - but Messi, Mbappe and Co will not influence his thinking or way of playing.