Harry Kane will deliver England’s final team talk after Gareth Southgate revealed he will give his players the silent treatment.
England boss Southgate says he never addresses his players just before kick-off because they are so well prepared there is nothing left to say. Instead, Kane will deliver the rabble-rousing final message as England’s Captain Marvel insisted that he has the ultimate belief they can win the trophy.
Tottenham striker Kane said: “The preparation has been done, everyone will be talking in the changing room, everyone will be talking about the same messages that we have been talking about for the last six days.
“It will just be a small briefing in a huddle, I will think about it 24 hours before, but it is just to go over what we have been preparing for.
“At that stage the players will be ready, just itching to get out there and play. You rarely get six days to wait for a quarter-final so we are more than ready to get out there and get going.”
Kane insists that England have learned from their past experiences after reaching the World Cup semi finals four years ago and the Euros final last year. But now they have an inner belief that they can beat France - but also go on to win the trophy rather than just be there for the ride.
Kane said: “I think looking back in 2018 we didn’t really know what to expect from the group of players, we had belief we could win but it was a new experience for many of us.
“We were over the moon with reaching the semi-finals but whether we had the full belief to win the tournament, I’m not sure. Then at the Euros we lost by a couple of the kicks of the ball but the belief has been building over the last four or five years and we enter into this tournament believing we can win.
“We are ready for this game and we are prepared, and we go into it with more belief than we had in 2018. We are not here just to reach a quarter-final, put it that way. We know there are some very good teams in the tournament and we are very good team too.
“If we lost, we would be as disappointed as anyone. I know what you mean about the mentality but between us and staff we have a belief and determination to be a successful team.
“We can only prove that on the pitch and winning games like this, but this is not the final, it is only a step to reaching the final and we need to be fully focused on that.”
Kane will be up against Tottenham team mate Hugo Lloris and insisted he will not change his penalty taking style if he ends up facing him from the spot.
He added: “I have not spoken to Hugo before this match. We have a great relationship, we have played with each other for a long long time and spent time away from football with our wives and families so he is a really good guy and one of the best goalkeepers in the world.
“Surprisingly I haven’t practiced too much against Hugo, I would normally practice against the second or third choice goalkeeper on the day before the game when you normally practice with them.
“I’ve taken them against him but I wouldn’t say loads and loads but I have it similar against Premier League goalkeepers when I face an England goalkeeper, I stick to my process and stick to the practice before the game.”
