England captain Harry Kane shrugs off criticism: This is certainly not the first time people have doubted me

England striker Harry Kane has had a disappointing start to the European Championship but said he is not worried about the lack of goals in the group stage and hopes to reach the knockout rounds from Tuesday’s last-16 clash with Germany .

England captain Kane faced criticism of his form, as a below-par performance led him to be substituted in both a 1–0 win over Croatia and a 0–0 draw with Scotland.

“This is certainly not the first time people have doubted me,” Kane told British media. “People are quick to change their mind. It was not too long ago when I won the Golden Boot (as the Premier League’s top scorer) and I was the best thing in the world.

“I’ve always believed in myself. I could have played 10-15 games without scoring but would give me a chance and I’d back myself to score it. On Tuesday, physically, I could go through the tournament.” I’m in the best shape so far.

“I felt in Russia (at the 2018 World Cup) I opened fire, scored too many goals, then didn’t do my best in the most important games. So coming into this, physically, I wanted to make sure I was right. peak on time.”

The 27-year-old looked sharp in England’s 1-0 win over Czech Republic in the final Group D game, and backed himself to prove critics wrong in the later stages of the tournament.

“I know, especially the first two games, I could have played better. For me, it’s about trying to peak at the right time and the right timing is the knockout phase in tournament football,” Kane said.

“I feel good, I feel fast. I feel good, definitely in the third game … Hopefully I can come to my best form in the knockout stage and that will help the team.”