Despite not scoring in the third-place match lost by his team to Belgium (2-0), this Saturday in St. Petersburg, Englishman Harry Kane has a great chance to finish the 2018 World Cup as top scorer, with the 6 goals he scored in Russia.
Belgian Romelu Lukaku, who was his main threat, also did not score on Saturday and remains with 4 goals.
Kane had a strong start to the competition, with a brace in England's first match against Tunisia (2-1) and then a hat-trick against Panama (6-1). He scored in the round of 16 against Colombia.
But the Tottenham player, who had been the top scorer in 2017 in the major European leagues even ahead of Lionel Messi, was less effective in the decisive part of the competition, failing to score in the quarterfinals, semifinals, and now in this symbolic bronze medal match.
Disappointed
Kane confessed that they felt "disappointed" for not winning the third place, but he trusted that the Pross have "room to progress" towards Euro 2020, after losing 2-0 to Belgium in the World Cup third-place match.
"We are disappointed for not winning, but it's a way to learn. There is room for progress," Kane summarized at the end of a match in which he couldn't add any goals, although he is close to winning the Golden Boot as the top scorer (6 goals compared to Antoine Griezmann and Kylian Mbappé's 3 goals).
"We will try to reach the semifinals and the final (in two years at Euro 2020, where the last matches will be played in London), it's a level we're going to try to maintain," added "Prince" Harry, who was frustrated by the fourth-place finish.
"We go into every competition to win it," he emphasized.
The English striker acknowledged that the physical exertion against Croatia in the semifinals (a 2-1 loss in extra time) took its toll on them.
"It's been a tough tournament, we have faced very good opponents. (Physically) it was tough after playing 120 minutes and having just two days of rest," explained the Tottenham forward.
"In the second half, we played really well, we controlled them for the first half-hour. We pressed, but obviously the second goal killed us," concluded Harry Kane.
Other top scorers
Eden Hazard, leader of the Belgian 'Golden Generation' and who scored a goal on Saturday, finishes the tournament with 3 goals.
Only a great performance by a player in Sunday's final between France and Croatia in Moscow could deprive Kane of the Golden Boot.
With 3 goals, Frenchmen Antoine Griezmann and Kylian Mbappé are tied, but they would need a hat-trick to catch up to the Englishman in the goal-scoring table. (D)
Top scorers after the third-place match:
6 goals: Kane (England)
4 goals: Cheryshev (Russia), Cristiano Ronaldo (Portugal), Lukaku (Belgium)
3 goals: Cavani (Uruguay), Diego Costa (Spain), Dzyuba (Russia), Griezmann (France), Eden Hazard (Belgium), Kylian Mbappé (France), Mina (Colombia)
2 goals: Agüero (Argentina), Coutinho (Brazil), Granqvist (Sweden), Inui (Japan), Jedinak (Australia), Khazri (Tunisia), Mandzukic (Croatia), Modric (Croatia), Musa (Nigeria), Neymar (Brazil), Perisic (Croatia), Salah (Egypt), Son Heung-min (South Korea), Stones (England), Suárez (Uruguay)