LONDON: England captain Harry Kane says his interest in returning to the Premier League has cooled because he is “fully all in” on Bayern Munich.
The 32-year-old Kane joined Bayern from Tottenham in the summer of 2023 and is under contract there until the summer of 2027.
The striker said that when leaving Spurs, he expected “for sure” that would one day return to English soccer. He’s no longer certain about that.
“In terms of staying longer (at Bayern), I could definitely see that,” said Kane, who has reported for England duty ahead of a friendly with Wales on Thursday and a World Cup qualifier in Latvia on Oct. 14. “I spoke openly a couple of weeks ago that I have not had those conversations with Bayern yet, but if they were to arise I would be willing to talk and have an honest conversation.
“Obviously it depends on how the next year or so goes and what we achieve together. Right now, I would say we are in a fantastic moment and I am not thinking about anything else. In terms of the Premier League, I don’t know — if you had asked me when I first left to go to Bayern, I would have said for sure I would come back. Now I have been there a couple of years I would probably say that has gone down a little bit, but I wouldn’t say I would never go back.”
Kane has scored 11 goals in his first six games in the Bundesliga, with Bayern taking a maximum 18 points.
Bayern sporting director Christoph Freund recently said the team is “probably witnessing the best version of Harry Kane there has ever been.”
“What I have learnt in my career is that different opportunities and different timings happen and things fall in place,” Kane said. “Going back to my first point with Bayern right now I am fully all in with Bayern.”
Kane won his first major trophy at club level last season when Bayern won the league and he said that’s “given me more motivation to do more and be better.”
“I think I’ve shown that this year,” he said. “I was interested in how I would feel after winning a trophy. Obviously, there’s still a lot more I want to achieve in terms of other trophies and bigger trophies for sure.
“But I think it was always just, in my head, ‘What I was going to feel like after I did achieve winning my first one?’ But for sure, I pushed myself the other way, in terms of being even better, eating even cleaner, doing more gym. Just trying to get the most out of what I’ve got right now.”
Kane cools interest in Premier League return and is ‘fully all in’ on Bayern
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Kane cools interest in Premier League return and is ‘fully all in’ on Bayern
- The 32-year-old Kane joined Bayern from Tottenham in the summer of 2023 and is under contract there until the summer of 2027
- The striker said that when leaving Spurs he expected “for sure” that would one day return to English soccer
France qualify for 2026 World Cup; Ronaldo sent off as Portugal lose to Ireland
- Two goals from star striker Mbappe helped two-time champions France to qualify with a 4-0 home win against Ukraine on Thursday
- Ronaldo will serve a mandatory one-game ban imposed for any red card when Portugal play Armenia
- Erling Haaland scored twice as Norway moved closer to qualifying for the World Cup for the first time since 1998 by beating Estonia 4-1 in Oslo
LONDON: Kylian Mbappe and France are going to the 2026 World Cup. And Cristiano Ronaldo might be banned from Portugal’s first game there if his team finally win their European qualifying group.
Two goals from star striker Mbappe helped two-time champion France to qualify with a 4-0 home win against Ukraine on Thursday. But Ronaldo was ejected for the first time in his international career and Portugal will have to wait until Sunday to secure a qualifying spot for the seventh straight time after it was stunned 2-0 by Ireland in Dublin.
Midfielder Michael Olize and substitute forward Hugo Ekitike added the other goals in a dominant second half from France, the World Cup runner-up in 2022.
Mbappe sent the penalty straight down the middle to break the deadlock in the 55th minute before Olize turned inside the penalty area to curl home the second goal in the 76th at Parc des Princes in western Paris. Mbappé poked in France’s third goal from close range in the 83rd following a goal-mouth scramble. Mbappe moved onto 55 goals and just two behind Olivier Giroud as France’s all-time top scorer.
“The French national team will always be better with him in it,” coach Didier Deschamps said about Mbappé. “He makes things easier for us. He performed his role perfectly this evening, as both a player and the captain of the national team.”
Mbappe went close to a hat trick moments later but blazed over after going clean through.
France have won Group D with 13 points, Ukraine and Iceland are tied on seven points and will play for second place when they meet on Sunday.
Ronaldo’s 1st international red card
Portugal will host last-place Armenia in the final qualifying game on Sunday, when Hungary host Ireland at the same time.
Portugal top Group F with 10 points, two ahead of Hungary. Ireland are third with seven points.
Ronaldo was sent off for elbowing Ireland defender Dara O’Shea on the hour. The referee issued a yellow card but minutes later upgraded it to red after a video review.
Portugal coach Roberto Martinez said he thought the ejection was “a bit harsh,” pointing out that Ronaldo “has never been sent off before in 226 games.”
Ronaldo will serve a mandatory one-game ban imposed for any red card when Portugal play Armenia. FIFA disciplinary rules require its judges to impose a ban of “at least two matches for serious foul play.”
Troy Parrott put the hosts ahead with a close-range header following a corner kick in the 17th minute against the run of play with Portugal dominant. Parrott added his second in the final minute before the break, beating Diogo Costa with a low shot from inside the area.
Haaland’s double
Erling Haaland scored twice as Norway moved closer to qualifying for the World Cup for the first time since 1998 by beating Estonia 4-1 in Oslo.
The win virtually secures a spot for the high-scoring Norwegians in next year’s tournament in the US, Canada and Mexico.
Italy had to rely on late goals from Gianluca Mancini and substitute Francesco Pio Esposito to win 2-0 at Moldova and is second in Group I, trailing leader Norway by three points.
Italy will likely have to settle for the playoffs where the four-time World Cup champions were eliminated in the past two editions. They host Norway on Sunday and would have to win by a nine-goal margin to directly qualify because of Norway’s vastly superior goal difference.
Haaland has scored 14 of Norway’s European-best 33 goals in seven group-stage games. The Manchester City striker was born two years after Norway last reached the World Cup.
Still perfect England
Already-qualified England continued to cruise.
They beat Serbia 2-0 at Wembley Stadium to keep a perfect record in Group K and are yet to concede a goal.
Bukayo Saka fired England ahead on a rebound with a left-foot volley in the 28th after an initial shot by Nico O’Reilly was blocked. Substitute forward Eberechi Eze added the second in the 90th off a pass from another substitute, Phil Foden.
Albania beat Andorra 1-0 in the same group to secure the runner-up spot.
