Harry Kane labels England 'one of the favourites' for World Cup after perfect qualifying campaign

Kane led the Three Lions to their latest win by scoring both goals in the match in Tirana, further extending his red-hot form for club and country. The striker was one of a few regular starters for Thomas Tuchel amid a rotated lineup as the already-qualified England looked to maintain their perfect record through the end of the qualifiers.

To Albania's credit, Kane said the home side gave England one of the biggest tests they've had in their qualification journey.

"It was a really tough game, one of the toughest we had in the group," Kane told ITV. "We had to be patient and grind them down, which we did, and we ended up with a 2-0 win and another clean sheet."

Indeed, the Three Lions completed their Group K schedule with eight wins from eight matches, and they did so without conceding a goal.

As was evident on Sunday and throughout qualifying, England's squad depth was a major advantage as Tuchel was able to use many different players throughout.

"If you want to go far in any tournament, you need a whole squad, you need players who don't start, to come off the bench and make an impact, that's what football's about," Kane said. "It's not just the 11 that play [in the starting lineup], the boys come on and make a difference."

With an expanded World Cup just months away, Kane believes England's depth of talent will be a difference-maker as the team is expected to go far next summer.

"It's as good as we've ever had," Kane said of the squad's quality. "We're going to go into the tournament as one of the favourites and we have to accept that, it's been like that the past few tournaments now, and that's part of it.

"We've been building, had a great year together with the new coach, and it's now to 2026."

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