World Cup 2026: Harry Kane sets sights on Ballon d’Or in bid to help England to glory

Harry Kane on if he'd be a favourite to win the Ballon d'Or if England won the World Cup this summer: "I'd probably say I'll be up there for sure. With the season I've had, I think with winning the three trophies, the numbers I've reached, I think I'll be in that conversation."

Tuesday 2 June 2026 13:25, UK

Harry Kane hopes he can make himself the leading contender for the Ballon d’Or by helping fire England to World Cup glory.

The England captain enjoyed another standout campaign with Bayern Munich, scoring 61 goals across all competitions - including a hat-trick in the DFB-Pokal final as Vincent Kompany's side completed a domestic double.

Kane's form will be key to England's hopes of World Cup success, with the majority of Thomas Tuchel's 26-man squad having now arrived in Florida for their pre-tournament warm-up camp.

The 32-year-old knows the weight of expectation ahead and has his sights set on delivering at the highest level again.

When asked if he thinks he would be a favourite to win the Ballon d'Or if England won the World Cup, he said: "I'd probably say I'll be up there for sure.

"With the season I've had, I think with winning the three trophies, the numbers I've reached, I think I'll be in that conversation," Kane said in an interview with L'Equipe that was conducted ahead of joining up with the England squad.

"If I win the World Cup on top of that, you would imagine it would be one of the England players.

"When you look at some of the past winners of the Ballon d'Or, for sure it comes down to the big games, the big tournaments, and you add that on top of what I've achieved this year, I think I'll be up there."

He added: "I think you're starting to hear the noise about the players who are maybe favourites for the Ballon d'Or at the moment, maybe me and Michael [Olise] and some of the players who were Champions League finalists.

"So it's been an incredible season. I'm not the type of guy who wants to say I deserve the Ballon d'Or. I try and do my talking on the pitch."

Is the Ballon d'Or a personal aim for Kane?

England captain Harry Kane to L'Equipe:

"I wouldn't say as a kid I was dreaming of it, but I think as I started to know more and more about football, watching Ronaldo and Messi and seeing them perform like they did and watching them win the Ballon d'Or, I feel like maybe in my teenage years I've become more aware of it and what it meant.

"I think it's a consequence of having a great team, a great team season, and then being able to perform at the level I know I can consistently throughout the year, which is what I've done this year. It's almost like a cherry on top of an amazing season.

" It's such a prestigious award, it would be incredible to win."

'England's ambition is to win World Cup'

Former Chelsea boss Tuchel is determined to help England make the next step from the progress made under Sir Gareth Southgate and deliver a first tournament success since 1966.

Having worked under Tuchel during the German coach's spell in charge of Bayern, Kane has full confidence in the direction he is taking the current squad.

"At Bayern, I loved his personality, his ideas for the team, and the way he got me playing. In a way, he brought those methods to the national team," Kane said.

"The ambition is to win it (the World Cup), obviously, that has to be our goal.

"We know it will be difficult, but we have been close in recent years to winning a major tournament - we reached two Euro finals (in 2021 and 2024), a semi-final (in 2018) and a quarter-final (in 2022) of the World Cup.

"This year, we will have a new coach, new players. It is exciting - even if this kind of competition generates a lot of pressure."

Barnes says England World Cup win is ‘unrealistic’

Former England winger John Barnes insists it is "unrealistic" to expect England to win the World Cup and not doing so should not be classed as failure.

The country is still waiting to add to its one major trophy from the 1966 World Cup despite reaching the semi-final in 2018, quarter-final four years later and the last two finals of the European Championships.

"To expect England to win a tournament is unrealistic," Barnes said.

"We are England and of course we have unrealistic expectations as we always have, throughout the world and throughout history.

"To not win the World Cup is not failure. What would be failure is if you don't get to the latter stages. If you are in the top five or six in the world you should be getting to the quarter-finals, semi-finals.

"This team is capable of going deep into the competition, definitely."

Can Kane create more history at World Cup?

No European player has scored more knockout goals in the World Cup and Euros than Kane, but is there a record he is looking to break at this summer's tournament?

He said: "The one for me would be amazing, but I'm a little bit far away at the moment. It's the most World Cup goals (Miroslav Klose, 16).

"But maybe the most World Cup goals by an English player. It's 10 by Gary Lineker, and I'm on 8 right now. So I have a good World Cup, I'll be able to pass Lineker in that aspect.

"These are all little things that would be great to do along the way. If we're breaking those records, it means the team's doing well and we're probably winning games.

"So that's the most important thing."

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