Kane reveals Lewis-Skelly's 2018 England memory left him feeling old
Harry Kane has shared a moment of realisation about just how young England's new generation really is, revealing a conversation with Arsenal midfielder Myles Lewis-Skelly left him feeling his age.
Speaking on Wednesday at Tottenham Hotspur's training centre, the Bayern Munich forward opened up on some of the stars of the future within Thomas Tuchel's Three Lions squad, including Lewis-Skelly and Fulham teenager Joshua King, who is in his first proper senior camp.
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Kane explained: “It's pretty crazy, I remember talking to Myles a few camps ago and I was asking him about his early England memories and he said 2018 and it was crazy. It makes me feel a little bit older than I would want but it's just a reminder of how young some of these guys are, but we have given this younger generation a lot of good moments and reasons to cheer. It just motivates me to help some of these younger players and newer members in the squad to experience what we have had. Josh has been great, he was great in the summer in the prep camp, he's been really good here and he is having a great season. Everyone is fitting in pretty nicely into the squad.”
Kane won the World Cup Golden Boot in 2018 as England finished fourth at that tournament in Russia, the same year a then 12 year old Lewis-Skelly has his earliest memories of watching the national team. The 20 year old is suspended for Wednesday evening's friendly against Croatia.
King on being welcomed into the squad
King also spoke about settling into the senior setup, revealing Kane and Jude Bellingham were among those who helped him feel at home during the pre-World Cup camp in Miami over the summer.
He said: “There were a lot of people I learned from. Jude was a big person for me. He took me under his wing and tried to make me feel welcome. There were a lot of players like that. Harry Kane as well, he was one person who really made me feel welcome and tried to help me through my time there. But it's a credit to what England have going here, everyone is a really good person as well as good player on the pitch.”
A landmark night for Kane
The comments came on a significant day for Kane personally, with the striker set to become England's all-time leading appearance holder when he earns his 126th cap against Croatia. A pre-match presentation is planned to mark the milestone, with joint record holder Peter Shilton involved in the ceremony.
Shilton had held the record alone since 1989 after a 20 year England career that yielded 125 caps. Kane remains the Three Lions' all-time top scorer with 91 goals, and continues to be a reference point for the likes of Lewis-Skelly as Arsenal's academy graduate establishes himself at international level heading toward Euro 2028.
