Harry Kane is the world’s best striker and can land another World Cup Golden Boot this year, says England team-mate Luke Shaw.
Tottenham ace Kane scored the winner for England from the penalty spot in Saturday’s 2-1 friendly success against Switzerland at Wembley.
That goal 12 minutes from time, after Shaw had cancelled out Breel Embolo’s header, took Kane level with Bobby Charlton as England’s joint-second all-time top scorer.
Only Wayne Rooney has scored more goals in an England shirt, with the former Manchester United frontman having netted 53 compared to Kane and Charlton’s 49 strikes.
With seven England games pencilled in between now and the World Cup, Kane may well break that goalscoring record before Qatar 2022 gets up and running in November.
On current form, Shaw is backing his Three Lions colleague to finish top of the scoring charts in the global showpiece, having previously done so in Russia four years ago.
“I don’t see why not,” Shaw told beIN SPORTS. “For me, at the moment, the way he’s playing, he’s one of the best strikers in the world, probably the best.
“So hopefully he can keep that form up, keep it going. He’s showing it week in, week out at the moment, and it’s a joy to watch.
“Long may that continue, and I’m sure he will be hunting another Golden Boot and all the other records.”
At club level, Kane has scored 11 goals in 17 appearances so far this calendar year and chipped in with a further four assists in all competitions.
The 15 direct goal involvements is a tally bettered only by Robert Lewandowski, Christopher Nkunku (both 16) and Karim Benzema (17) from Europe’s top five leagues.
Kane has also now scored eight goals in his last three international appearances, helping England to three successive wins with an aggregate score of 17-1.
England were not at their best against Switzerland, but Manchester United defender Shaw believes the battling display – a seventh comeback win under Gareth Southgate – stands the national team in good stead.
“The belief, the confidence – I’ve said it many times before, when we’re under pressure in games where it’s not going the way we want to, I feel like we’re all together,” said Shaw.
“We’re going to come across all sorts of games when we’re under pressure. The main thing for me is we’re all together, and we do that in abundance where we’re really well drilled, and we know what everyone has to do when they step out on that pitch.
“That’s with the ball but definitely without the ball we’re getting better with that, too.”