Kane's path to the top

Harry Kane is England's poster boy, the only truly global star in the World Cup squad, but the Tottenham striker has had to work ferociously hard to convince the doubters throughout his career.

Born five miles from White Hart Lane, Tottenham did not have to look far for a hero the Spurs fans label "one of their own" but the route to the first team was a circuitous one. Spurs' north London rivals Arsenal opted against sticking with Kane when he was a youngster, deeming him not strong or quick enough.

Fast forward to 2018 and Kane, 24, will carry the expectations of a nation on his shoulders, spearheading England's World Cup ambitions in Russia on the back of 147 goals in the past four seasons for club and country.

"You could tell straight away even though he was young, he could strike a ball really well," David Bricknell, a Tottenham scout, told AFP. Bricknell coached Kane as a six-year-old at Ridgeway Rovers, the same youth club where a young David Beckham excelled. "I've been doing it for over 20 years and there's probably only a couple that stood out like that," added Bricknell.

"We had him for two seasons. He scored lots of goals for us," said Bricknell. "Arsenal picked him up very early. His mobility was why he struggled there apparently."

Watford was Kane's next destination, on a six-week trial, but it was a hattrick against his beloved Spurs that convinced Tottenham to take him on. Unlike some of the household names headed to Russia, Kane does not fit the mould of a supremely talented prodigy destined for stardom.

"It was certainly touch and go when he was about 14 whether he'd even be kept on," Tottenham's former head of player development Chris Ramsey told FourFourTwo magazine. "He struggled with his pace a lot in the early days. He always had talent but he was a little kid and traditionally smaller players have struggled to make the breakthrough."

However, what Kane never lacked was self-belief and determination to make it to the top.

Like many of his predecessors in the role of England's saviour, the one thing lacking from Kane's career is a starring role at a major international tournament. He flopped at Euro 2016 as England exited in embarrassing fashion to Iceland.

Kane's career, though, is a lesson in taking second chances. England's hopes depend on him sticking with that script in Russia.