England will begin its new Nations League campaign against Spain at Wembley. Ahead of the match, captain Kane discussed the Ballon d'Or, contract negotiations with Bayern Munich, his feelings following the World Cup semi-final defeat, and responded to discussions about England's style of play. This is the third part of the press conference.

Other parts of the press conference:

Kane: This year is my best chance to compete for the Ballon d'Or; I want to extend my career as long as possible

Kane: We once thought about avoiding defeat and ended up losing; that must not happen again

I think that's the most difficult question to answer: how do we make sure it doesn't happen again? What exactly needs to change?

I think ultimately it comes down to us as players, and the leaders of the team need to take more responsibility as well. In these situations, we all need to be more clear-headed as a unit and make better decisions at the most crucial moments. It's a natural reaction to try to cling to the current situation, as we have done in the past. We played well in certain matches, like against Mexico and in the closing stages against Norway.

But if I had to choose one performance that I think could be a template for the team, it would be the second half against Croatia. I think we started that match a bit nervously, and mentally, we carried the weight of some of our past struggles. At halftime, Thomas spoke well to everyone, and then you saw a complete shift in our mentality and our performance on the pitch. We were leading 3-2, but we still wanted to push and attack. We brought on players, wanting to finish the match completely, and our attacking play ultimately made it difficult for the opposition.

In the biggest and highest-pressure matches, regardless of the situation, we need to maintain that mindset. If we can stay aggressive and clear-headed, I think that will make a huge difference.

Harry, tomorrow you face Spain, who are the reigning European champions and reigning world champions. What do you think England can learn from this match? And how can this match help you take the next step you just mentioned?

We're facing one of the best teams in the world right now, and one of the best teams in the world over the past three years. I think we're not far off them. If you rank the best teams, we're probably second or third. So tomorrow, two of the best teams in the world will face each other.

From our perspective, it's an important match for us to prove ourselves. If we can win, it will be a massive boost to our confidence, for the upcoming Nations League matches, and for our preparations for the European Championship. You also want to play against the best teams. That's the reality: if you want to win major tournaments, you have to play matches like this.

This match is at Wembley, and it's our first match since the World Cup, so I think the players and the fans are really looking forward to it. We also want to see if the team can build on the many good things we've accomplished together previously. That's our goal, and we're hoping for a positive result tomorrow night.

Harry, one positive from the World Cup was your excellent partnership with Bellingham. Could you talk about how you see this partnership, how your chemistry developed during the tournament, and how you might play together tomorrow?

Of course. First, congratulations to Jude on winning the men's Player of the Year award. It's great to see him achieve such success. He's had a fantastic year for England and an incredible performance at the World Cup.

I spoke about this not long ago. During that period, we developed an excellent understanding on the pitch, and also off it. We learned to know each other better, and I think that relationship was reflected in the World Cup matches. We really enjoy playing together. We know we're both in great form, that we can pose a threat to opponents, and we feel we're energising and helping the team.

At a World Cup, we scored 6 and 7 goals respectively. As a duo, I think that's one of the best performances of all time, especially from an England perspective. We've taken a lot of positives from it, and we're hoping to continue that tomorrow.

I think we've both had a good start to the season, we feel good, and we're in excellent physical condition. Training this week has also been excellent. We're pushing each other to see what levels we can reach. The same goes for tomorrow. I hope we both put in great performances and help England get the result we want.

There are many players in Spain's squad from that excellent Barcelona team. Have you discussed Spain in more detail with Anthony Gordon or Bellingham, who often play against them, this week?

Not really. I wouldn't say we've specifically discussed any of their individual players. However, as a collective, we have, of course, studied Spain with the manager, looking at their strengths and the areas where we think we can threaten them.

I think we all know them. Many of us have already played against their players and know what threats they pose. We know they like to control possession, build patiently, and play at their own pace. It's easier said than done, but we need to try to disrupt their rhythm, especially to show our own capabilities at home. As for Jude and Anthony, they now wear England shirts, and their goal is to win tomorrow's match.

You just spoke about leadership, and I wanted to ask you about the younger players in the squad, or those who have recently joined: how do you help them integrate? Thomas also mentioned your Nations League targets, reaching at least the quarter-finals, and hopefully going further. As an experienced player, how do you balance helping develop less experienced players with ensuring England gets the results it needs?

Honestly, I think that's always been one of our great strengths. Any new player, or player who hasn't been with England for a while and is now back, can immediately be themselves. That's important. Whatever level of performance brought them here from their clubs, they need to maintain that, and not feel they need to change to fit in.

For us experienced players, the best way is to lead by example. Many of us also took part in the World Cup this summer. The way we train, the way we approach matches, I think all of that has a big impact on the new players. Off the pitch, be yourselves, relax, enjoy your time with your teammates, and get to know each other; on the pitch, train hard, respect the team standards, push each other, and then carry that into the matches.

So I hope all the young players and new players feel comfortable here and can be themselves. As long as you do what you need to do on the pitch and work hard, you'll have no problems here.

A lighter question. "Wonderwall" was the soundtrack to your World Cup journey this summer, and English fans clearly loved it. Since then, Oasis has announced a tour next summer, and many fans are trying to get presale codes and tickets. I imagine you probably don't have to worry about that. But I still want to ask, even if I don't know your plans for next summer, would you try to get the team together to go to an Oasis concert and relive that World Cup feeling?

That's a great idea. If we win the Nations League, we can certainly go to a concert together and celebrate properly. They're also playing in Munich. I know many German fans, Bayern Munich players, and Bayern Munich fans are looking forward to it. Actually, I've never seen them live, so that would be great for me too. We haven't discussed it yet, but now it's definitely on the table. Hopefully we can have a successful year and next summer, and then maybe we can go to an Oasis concert together to celebrate.

Traduit par IA.

Le site web d'AF est désormais en ligne ! Actualités complètes, commentaires, détails des matchs et statistiques sur votre ordinateur. Visitez : www.allfootballapp.com