Why World Cup Golden Boot win offers little comfort for Kane

Harry Kane claims the pride of winning the Golden Boot would not be enough to atone for the disappointment of England's semi-final exit in Russia.

Gareth Southgate's side missed the chance to become the outright second-best World Cup team in the nation's history as a 2-0 defeat to Belgium in the third-place play-off on Saturday meant they finished fourth.

Striker and captain Kane at least appears likely to return home with the Golden Boot, his six goals putting him three clear of France pair Antoine Griezmann and Kylian Mbappe ahead of the final.

However, the 24-year-old insists topping the scoring charts along with a fourth-place finish would not have satisfied him at the outset of the tournament.

"No, to be honest, because I said we go into every competition to win," Kane told ITV.

"But we've made huge strides, I said that after the game on Wednesday.

"It's been tough, playing 120 minutes a couples of days ago. We wanted to play [the third-place play-off], we wanted to finish on a high. It's disappointing we have not won the game.

"It shows we can still learn, still get better, but we can hold our heads up high. We've closed [the gap to the top teams] for sure. But today shows and other games show there's still room for improvement."
On the verge of becoming the second Englishman to win the Golden Boot, Kane has still faced scrutiny for netting just once in the knockout stages.

The Tottenham talisman admitted the honour would come as more of a reflection of England's bright start to the tournament.

"It shows we had a very good group stage, we scored a lot of goals," he said.

"Obviously I'm disappointed I didn't get a goal in the last few games, but that's football. Sometimes it goes for you, sometimes it doesn’t. We'll see tomorrow. If I do it, it will be something I'm very proud of."