England international Harry Kane has stressed that he cannot be compared with the likes of Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo, who have achieved plenty of success over the past decade. Kane has been one of the Premier League’s most fearsome strikers over the past four seasons and he managed to take the same form into the recent World Cup where he was handed the Golden Boot for the most goals scored during the tournament.

Speaking at a news conference, Kane said that he wants to continue improving with his game but he is still far off from reaching the heights of Messi and Ronaldo, he said: “I think it's hard to compare myself with them two. Those two have set a standard of football over the past 10 years that has been unbelievable.Those are the heights we all want to reach. To finish top goalscorer in a World Cup was something I am extremely proud of.I don't think I can be up there with those two but I aim to improve.”

Prior to his goal against Fulham, the Spurs man had failed to score in over 1,000 minutes of top-flight football in August. With that run now over, a huge weight has been lifted and Kane may benefit directly from that lack of pressure. Lucas Moura has stepped up to the plate in the absence of Heung-Min Son and Mauricio Pochettino will be very happy with his team at this moment in time.

Tottenham Hotspur striker Harry Kane has done it: his barren run without a top-flight goal in August is over.

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Chelsea captain Gary Cahill has decided to step back from England duty for the time being in order to concentrate on his club career. The centre-back was included in the Three Lions squad for the summer World Cup but he managed just one appearance for them during the group stage game versus Belgium which had no meaning.

Since returning to club duty, there have been suggestions that Cahill could be excluded from future squads with England with regular Premier League football but the 32-year-old has now taken the advance decision of stepping down with honour, he told Chelsea TV: “In terms of my international future, I think it is time I take a step back and now I feel that is the right moment. I have been hugely honoured to have played for my country and I would never shut the door if I was needed in the future. I had a good chat with the manager and he could see where I was coming from.”

Former Chelsea midfielder Vinnie Jones has aimed another dig at Raheem Sterling claiming that the Englishman only looks better with top-class players around him. Sterling had gone to the summer World Cup after scoring 23 goals for Manchester City during their title-winning season but he failed to find the scoresheet for the Three Lions during their run to the semi-final.

As such, there has been mixed opinion regarding his performances in the media and Jones has said that Sterling is not effective when he has to play under pressure with the national side, he quipped: “I never got on Sterling’s back, I just said that sometimes his pace gets him out of a lot of trouble. When you go into a better team you play better yourself, there’s not so much pressure on you to dominate games.

England captain Harry Kane has revealed his disappointment after the Three Lions succumbed to a semi-final defeat to Croatia. The Three Lions were widely fancied against the Croatians heading into the game and they took an early lead thanks to Kieran Trippier stunning free-kick. However, that was pretty much the only real chance for the Three Lions, who witnessed Ivan Perisic and Mario Mandzukic score in Croatia’s comeback win.

Speaking after the game, Kane admitted that the result is a huge disappointment but there are plenty of positives in terms of the success the team has found during the knockout phase, he said: “It is tough, we are gutted, we worked so hard and the fans were amazing.

As we’ve seen during previous World Cups, the best team in the group stages don’t always go on to win the tournament. That could spell bad news for supporters of Uruguay who were arguably the most impressive side in early qualifying, as they became the first nation since Argentina in 1998 to progress through the groups with three straight wins and without conceding a goal.

England and Belgium could also be cursed by that theory but as Russia 2018 heads into the knockout stage, no football supporter could accuse either France or Argentina to be among the best teams at this year’s World Cup.

Crystal Palace coach Steven Reid has backed Ruben Loftus-Cheek to make the summer World Cup with England after making a complete recovery from a knee injury. The midfielder earned plenty of praise during his first two caps for England in November but shortly after, he sustained a knee injury which kept him out for nearly two months.

Since then, Loftus-Cheek has slowly been reintegrated into the Eagles plans and he was named the man of the match during the recent 5-0 triumph over Leicester City. Speaking following the game, Reid said:"Ruben Loftus-Cheek could play anywhere, in any position. He has all the ingredients needed to be a superstar. He's got the size, the stature, two great feet. It's unfortunate that Oxlade-Chamberlain has got injured but sometimes these gaps open up and I'd be surprised if Ruben didn't go to the World Cup. We are not spoilt for choice in that position. On that performance against Leicester, yes, I would take him to the World Cup."

If you were to ask whether England could win the World Cup over the last 12 months, you would have been met with varying answers from ‘don’t be absurd’ to a polite ‘no’. None of the answers heard would have suggested the Three Lions had any chance whatsoever and when it comes to the English fans, it is very much a case of bitten nine times, ten times shy.

Since England’s magnificent home triumph in 1966, there has been an overwhelming amount of expectation with every World Cup that followed barring the ones they did not qualify for in 1974, 1978 and 1994. Otherwise, every time football’s premier showpiece comes around, the England team are smothered with expectation, which leads to a monumental gut-wrenching blow to the stomach every time they fail to win it.

Bournemouth striker Jermain Defoe remains optimistic of making the England World Cup squad despite missing out on selection on the last three occasions. The 35-year-old returned to Three Lions reckoning last summer after an impressive campaign for Sunderland, where he contributed 15 goals in the Premier League.

In order to prolong his international career further, Defoe opted to sign for former club Bournemouth on a free transfer, but things have since not gone his way. The veteran has managed just four league goals during the course of the season, and his form has been partly affected by an injury, which has restricted him to a bench role since December.