Harry Kane targets breaking England goalscoring record before World Cup

England captain Harry Kane would like to break Wayne Rooney’s goalscoring record before this winter’s World Cup.

Kane is currently on 49 goals for his country, four behind Rooney’s record of 53, and it is only a matter of time until he overtakes that landmark.

And with six Nations League games, including four in the next 10 days, before the Qatar World Cup, the Spurs striker is keen on doing it at the earliest opportunity.

“I’d like to break it as soon as possible, I’d love to score as many goals as I can in the next four games before the World Cup and see where we go from there,” he said.

“But I’m someone who doesn’t let that stuff affect me when I’m on the pitch, I have a job to do, it’s not about goalscoring records and thinking about stuff like that when I’m on the pitch, it’s about the team getting three points and winning the game.

“So of course I’d love to do it as soon as possible but if it doesn’t happen for some reason and it goes into the World Cup then so be it, the World Cup is probably the best competition in the world so I’ll have a lot of focus on trying to achieve that and go on and win that, so we’ll have to wait and see.”

Kane will be eyeing up his half-century as England visit Hungary on Saturday, a figure he could only have dreamed of when he made his debut in 2015.

“It seems like a long time ago when I made my debut now, at the time it was just about playing for England, that was one of the best feelings, still is one of the best feelings every time I pull on that shirt,” he said.

“Back then it wasn’t a number I had in my head, of course I wanted to score as many goals as possible and play as long as possible. It all goes so quickly, the major tournaments come around so quickly, the games come quickly and year-by-year you edge up that leaderboard.

“It’s great to be close to 50, obviously I am still a few goals behind Wazza but the most important thing is to go out there and perform for my team and that is what I’ll try and do.”

The four Nations League games end a hectic period for Kane, who will get just three weeks off before starting pre-season training with Tottenham ahead of another manic schedule building up to the World Cup.

The 28-year-old admits he would like a longer break and is fearful that players could pick up injuries.

He told BBC Radio 5 Live: “It’s difficult, when you are playing at the highest level, physically and mentally it takes a lot out of the body.

“For sure I feel like three weeks off isn’t enough time to recover mentally and physically, I guess you adapt to that but for sure I feel like there is going to be a time where players are picking up injuries because of that.

“But it is not our decision, it comes down to the competitions and where they can fit their competitions in.

“I am a player who loves playing football so I would never complain about going out there and playing matches but of course there are times when it would be nice to spend time with the family and recover as well, so there is always a balance.”