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World Cup 2026: Is Harry Kane England's GREATEST ever striker? | FIRST EVER coach gives HIS verdict
Jun 5, 2026
England captain Harry Kane heads into the 2026 World Cup on the brink of history, needing just three more goals to surpass Gary Lineker as the Three Lions' all-time leading scorer at the biggest tournument in world sport.In a special GB News Originals feature, Paul Coyte explored Kane's remarkable rise from a series of lower-league loan spells to becoming England's record goalscorer with the star's first-ever coach, Dave Bracknell.
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0:00
Three goals. Just three goals. That's all that stands between Harry Kane and becoming the greatest World Cup scorer in England's history ever
0:13
A player who's spent his entire career defying expectations, breaking records and making it look almost effortless
0:22
England's captain, England's talisman and right now England's greatest hope of World Cup glory
0:28
I'm Paul Coynt and welcome back to Sport on GB News Originals
0:32
Now it's easy just to reel off the numbers Because when you get strikers that's what you talk about
0:38
The amount of goals they score Believe me we're going to get to those shortly
0:42
Because this fella's scored quite a lot But let's not forget the journey
0:46
Because this is a player who nobody was in a rush to hand a first team shirt to
0:51
Lone Spells at Lake Norian At Millwall At Norwich City At Leicester City
0:57
This is a kid being shipped all around the football league while Spurs quietly tried to figure out what they actually had on their hands
1:06
It turns out, quite a lot. It was around this stage that I first came across Harry Kane
1:11
Harry Kane was 21, he'd made his debut for Spurs. And to be honest with you, I will be honest with you, and there's a lot of Spurs fans
1:18
And there's a lot of people in Tottenham Hotspur and legends of Spurs that didn't really think this kid was going to work out to be anything special
1:28
He looked like your tall, old style centre forward. But that was about it
1:36
Well, things did change a fair bit because what emerged at Tottenham Hotspur eventually was something that was genuinely special
1:46
This was not just a goal scorer. This is a true footballer
1:50
And not only that, this is someone that works at being a footballer
1:55
This is someone who's really given everything to his art. And it certainly worked out right for him
2:02
A striker with a touch of number 10, the movement of a born poacher
2:07
and a football brain that left defenders guessing every single week. Goals, assists, hold up play, link up play
2:16
Kane did and does it all and did it at the very highest level
2:20
season after season. Now the Premier League's second all-time top goalscorer and probably would be top now
2:28
if he wasn't in Germany. Oh well, we could always hope he could well come back
2:32
213 goals, 47 assists in 317 Premier League appearances for Tottenham Hotspur
2:38
So then, as I said, he made the move Bayern Munich in the Bundesliga
2:42
and if there was any doubters left and trust me, They are still there
2:47
I don't know what you have to do to prove how great this fellow is. He absolutely obliterated them in Germany
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44 goals in 45 games for Bayern in his first season. This season
3:02
How about 64 goals in 56 games? Records tumbling. A new country, a new league
3:11
the same relentlessness, the unstoppable Harry Kane. Now, no pressure, Harry. He arrives at this World Cup
3:20
hosted in the United States, Canada and Mexico, with eight goals across two tournaments
3:25
and a genuine shot at owning England's all-time World Cup scoring record outright
3:30
That's in the World Cup. Gary Lineker has had this for over 30 years with 10
3:35
Harry needs three. and who'd argue against him scoring a hat-trick and doing it then
3:42
Three goals to make history. But the story doesn't start at Wembley or the Allianz Arena or White Hart Lane
3:49
It starts much earlier than that with the coaches who spotted something
3:54
in a quiet, determined kid from East London long before the world and anybody else took notice
4:01
Now we tracked down one of those coaches and this is the man that really found him but first the public have their say on Harry Kane What do you think about Harry Is Harry Kane England best player
4:12
Yeah, of course. And do you think he'll help England win the World Cup? Yeah, of course. He'll be crucial
4:18
I think he probably is, yes. I think he's someone who's made the complete, maximises talent, which I have a lot of time for
4:27
I think he's a fantastic player. He'll help England win the World Cup
4:32
I'm not sure about that. I think there's some good teams. The fact it's in the US, I think
4:37
means it's really difficult for European teams to win there. So let's see
4:42
I think if we get beyond the quarters, that'd be really good. Is Harry Kane England's best player
4:46
He certainly is England's best player. He's the best player in the world. Absolutely. And do you think he can help England win the World Cup in America
4:54
Absolutely. Val Rondour. Brilliant. So there you go, Harry Kane. And I've got to tell you, from someone that met Harry Kane when he was 21 years old
5:02
who seemed a little shy, a little wet behind the ears, with a great future ahead of him
5:09
He was very polite, very friendly, very nice. And that often happens when a player breaks through
5:14
And then they start getting famous. And then they start getting the money. And then often you see a change
5:19
And it's human nature. You see it in all sorts of business, whether it be in football
5:24
whether it be in business, whether it be in show business, whatever. It always tends to happen
5:27
But Harry totally kept his feet on the ground. And I remember speaking to his mum a few years ago and said to her
5:34
I said, well, you know, it's testament to you, I guess, as a family, the fact that he is as he is because he hasn't changed
5:41
And she just said, you know, well, you know, Harry's Harry and, you know
5:44
he's a family guy and he trains and he trains and he trains and he loves his family
5:50
And that's it. And he's dedicated to his sport. And it shows. And that's the thing with Harry Kane. He transcends football
5:57
He's not just a player that England fans love. He's a player that the whole country has bought into
6:03
He's the quiet kid, you know, kept on scoring, kept on delivering. Never complained, never down tools, never stopped working
6:10
You never see nothing flash about him. And it's all started somewhere
6:15
So I'm joined by the man who first put a ball at Harry Kane's feet and thought
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you know what? I've seen a few footballers and this one's different
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Now, Harry Kane's very first coach, Dave Bricknell. Dave, great to see you
6:30
And you, Paul, lovely to see you, lovely to be here. Listen, this is one thing
6:34
You couldn't actually get any better than this, could you? I mean, I'm not going to blow smoke up anybody's backside
6:40
whether it be yours or whether it be Harry's, but probably you think of Lionel Messi probably dines out on this
6:46
His coach probably has for years. And for you, well, let me ask you, when did you first see it in Harry
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Because I've got to be honest, even when he started playing at Spurs, I didn't see anything special in this kid
7:00
but obviously you did much earlier than that. Well, I wouldn't say I see something special in him
7:06
Listen, Harry come to us at seven. He turned up for a trial
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This is Ridgeway Rovers, right? It's Ridgeway, yeah. Right. You know, what I know about football
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I asked if there's a goalkeeper. Harry put his hand up and said, I'll go and go
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And he was very good in goal, to be totally honest, for a seven-year-old. and I thought, yeah, I've got a goalkeeper
7:29
Then this woman, Lorraine, came up to me, who's his mum's friend, and said
7:34
he's not a goalkeeper. I went, no, OK. And then he went on pitch
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and the rest, as they say, is history. When did I think he was special
7:44
Probably just after he scored his first go at Spurs, to be honest with you
7:49
If I'm being totally honest, I thought he might have a career
7:53
To have the career he's had, though, He's unbelievable. It's special. He's done so well for himself
8:02
And he's the consummate professional, in my opinion. Is that the thing that makes the difference, though, Dave
8:08
Because that what I mentioned is how hard he works So when I spoke to his mum and said you know how has he managed to keep his feet on the ground Obviously family got a lot to do with it but he an incredibly hardworking footballer
8:21
He's not one of these that will be out all night and enjoying. I mean, sure, he's going to enjoy his money
8:26
but not to the detriment of his football. And has that always been the case
8:31
He's been completely dedicated to what he does. Yeah, I mean, you've mentioned his mum, Kim
8:37
They've got a lovely family. Very supportive of him. Always been there for him
8:42
Travelled from Brett for the country and the world now following him. So, you know, he's had a good base there
8:50
I was very lucky with the team I had. We had a lot of very good footballers
8:55
Three of them went on to play professional football. There was Harry Kane, Nico Yonaris, who ended up going to Arsenal with Harry
9:04
and then made his debut for Arsenal. And a boy called Jordan Archer
9:09
who come through the Spurs ranks, didn't quite make it. Spurs had a great career at Millwall
9:14
and a few other teams. And the difference between those that did make it
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and those that nearly made it or didn't quite make it is the hard work and the effort they put in
9:27
when they realise they actually want to be a professional rather than saying they want to be a professional
9:34
They don't go to all the late-night parties. They don't go out
9:38
The UME go to, you mean? Yeah, well, yeah, as you can tell by my belly
9:45
They do the things the right way, or they try and do things the right way
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They put in the extra hours. You know, to be as good as Harry's become isn't luck
9:58
Yeah. I don't like comparing him. As a centre forward, I think he's unreal
10:06
As a 10, he's unreal. he was Spurs' best defender as well from corners
10:11
he was probably our most best passer when he went into midfield
10:15
and passed the ball, he was the best finisher Sonny was up there but
10:19
Harry was to me the best finisher but that never come really naturally, he worked at all of that
10:25
there's only so many real natural players in my opinion, the Messi's
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the Maradona's everybody else seems to have to work, even Ronaldo's worked extremely hard
10:35
and to be the best I think you have to train to be the best
10:39
and make the commitment from a very early age. Well, what were the proudest moments for you, Dave
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watching him through his career? From knowing from when he was so young
10:50
to then he starts making it, would it have been... I mean, when he was out on loan, was it at Spurs
10:55
because being your club or playing for England? And what was it for you? I mean, he was very proud
10:59
The very first time he scored his first goal, his first Spurs goal in the..
11:04
He was one of the... is it the Europa? I think it was. Yeah, yeah, that's right
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I can't remember now. Anyway, that was a proud moment for his family and for myself
11:16
I was lucky. I mean, I was there at the very start from seven to nine
11:21
There's only so much you can do. All you do is like to think that you've helped him along the way in some respect
11:29
But have you made Harry? You know, no one else made Harry
11:33
Have you made Harry? he could have easily crumbled when he got let go by them down the road
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but he showed superb resilience and a I'll show you attitude and he's come back bigger
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and better for it What about as a man what about as a man himself then Dave because
11:53
I don't speak to Harry a lot I'm not going to sit here and say I'm best friends with him
11:58
I'm not I'll see Pat and Kim probably once or twice a year
12:02
and you have a nice chat. And I like to pass on like congratulations
12:08
I sent a text the other day, congratulations on winning the league again
12:13
You know his record is phenomenal If he doesn win the Blondie this year then there something very very wrong in football In my opinion I know I biased but the amount of goals and not just tap
12:31
not just, you know, right foot, he's right, he's left, there's headers, there's tap-ins, there's 25-yard screamers
12:40
You know, for one season, one day, he's done very, very well. Yeah, of course
12:45
That was what there was sung, One Season Wonder. Now, what I meant as a man is the fact that I didn't see a change, really
12:53
And that's a lot to be said for anybody, isn't it? He's seen the same
13:00
Probably the last time you saw him, he probably wasn't that much different from the first time you saw him, right
13:05
No, no. I don't think he's changed. You can only go on what you see
13:10
It doesn't change. I mean, you do the celebrations of Bayern. he's got his kids there with him
13:15
he's got Katie there with him he's given a big I mean to be
13:19
you know a super superstar and still have your feet on the ground
13:25
it just shows what type of person he is and it'll be the best
13:30
probably the greatest pleasure in my life to see England win the World Cup
13:34
if they can I mean already he's the record goal scorer for England
13:38
three goals away from breaking Gary Lineker's record for the most goals
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by an England player at World Cups. And obviously lifting the World Cup
13:46
would be the absolute ultimate, obviously before he comes back to Tottenham Hotspur
13:50
which hopefully won't be too far away. But as far as he's playing now
13:55
at his age now, is he better than he's ever been? Because for me
14:01
when I'm watching him, I mean, this is just, surely he can't get much better from where he is now
14:05
I mean, he's incredible. Well, you hear that they say that a fine wine gets better with age
14:11
He is like the finest. A lot of people say that to me at my age. You never used to say that to me, or is it me telling other people, Dave
14:17
I'm not sure. When it comes to compares, I'd agree with you, Paul
14:21
for comparing the games. Yeah, definitely. But he wasn't the fastest player
14:29
Yeah. He wasn't slow, but he wasn't the fastest player. His speed is up there, which is a bit like Teddy used to be. Yeah
14:38
Alex Welch said it once as well he shoots early which is what you want us forward to do
14:47
so they've got to keep the goalie off guard he doesn't panic
14:52
he seems to have a very very strong will one on ones
14:58
and the best thing about him is if he misses well he just thinks
15:03
I can't do nothing about it I'll park that one up and I'll just score the next one
15:07
Well, let's hope that that young fella that you saw at seven then that went through Ridgeway Rovers and then went somewhere else after that and then ended up all these different places on loan, making it through at Tottenham, then through to England, scoring on his first game and then becoming captain and then playing in two World Cups
15:25
And let's hope the third one, third time luckiest, you know, third time lucky, third World Cup for Harry Kane, needs three goals to break the record
15:32
And let's hope he's the one that lifts that cup at the world at the end of the tournament
15:36
You never know. Well, I'd love to wish him all the best. Every single player going out there
15:41
But if Harry could lift the World Cup, what a dream. What's a dream, mate
15:45
There you go. There's the picture for the living room. Good to speak to you, Dave. Really appreciate your time
15:50
All the best, Paul. Thank you very much, mate. It's Dave Bricknell
15:54
What a story. And what a reminder that behind every great player
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there's someone who believed in them before anybody else did. Harry Kane
16:03
Eight World Cup goals. Golden boot already in the cabinet. And now the chance to rewrite the record books for good in the summer in North America
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Plenty more to come on Sport and GB News Originals with me, Paul Coyt. Scan the QR code on screen to check out more of our sports coverage in the GB News Sport playlist
16:20
And there's also a link in the description below. And thank you for watching
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Lots more World Cup stuff coming up. And stay tuned for more
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