There has long been something about the mentality of US sports stars that has appealed to Harry Kane. The England captain sees it as something specific to them: a unique brand of never-say-die spirit. It leans into a broader notion – that anyone can achieve success if they want it badly enough, if they pursue it with all their heart. It is known as the American dream.

Kane was introduced to it all in 2011 at the start of his professional career, when the path was anything but smooth at his boyhood club, Tottenham. He had started to become interested in the NFL and there was something about the New England Patriots quarterback, Tom Brady, that transfixed him.

Kane watched The Brady 6 documentary. It told the story of how nobody wanted Brady in the 2000 NFL draft. Six other quarterbacks were taken before the Patriots made him the 199th pick. When the show came out, Brady had led the team to three Super Bowls. He would do so on a further four occasions, with Kane travelling to Atlanta in 2019 to watch the Patriots beat the Los Angeles Rams for No 6.

Brady invited Kane to the team party afterwards and there is a lovely photograph of them together, Kane wearing a Patriots replica jersey, Brady’s No 12 across the front. The pair have remained in touch ever since. But it is not just Brady, even if he is the principle inspiration. Kane follows other NFL players and other American sports personalities.

For Kane, it is the US in general. He is at ease in the country. He remembers going there on his first pre-season tour with Spurs in 2012, when the club played a game in New York and Kane was recognised in the streets. There are a lot of Tottenham fans in the Big Apple. Kane has been drawn back time and again, mainly to New York and Florida, where he loves the golf courses.

In New York, he appeared on the Jimmy Fallon show in 2022 and Good Morning America a year later when he talked of wanting to be an NFL kicker after he retired from football. He first mentioned that in 2019 and his words are worth reprinting. “It goes back to that drive to be the best,” he said. “Even if I download a game on my phone, can I be the best in the world? If you play in the Premier League and the World Cup, and you then play in the NFL, would you be considered one of the greatest sportsmen ever?”

Kane has lived his version of the American dream on the other side of the pond. The breakthrough at Spurs in 2014. The inexorable rise to become the face of the England team; the record goalscorer. The big money move to Bayern Munich in 2023. The titles with the Bundesliga club.

“People didn’t expect much from Tom Brady,” Kane says. “Seeing the way he went about his business, his journey from the start … to go on and be the greatest ever player in his sport is maybe reminiscent of me earlier in my career. In that people doubted me and I worked hard to turn that around.

“In terms of the US, it’s how open it is from the athlete and media point of view. Everyone wears their heart on their sleeve and they are maybe more honest in how they talk in the media. I enjoy being here. I’ve had good experiences in pre-season. I come here on holiday a bit to play golf. It’s been good memories.”

Kane’s real American dream will begin at Dallas Stadium on Wednesday when he leads England out for their World Cup opener against Croatia. It feels appropriate that it is an NFL arena, the home of the Dallas Cowboys. Albeit not as appropriate as if it were the Patriots’ Gillette Stadium in Foxborough. England play their second group game there against Ghana next Tuesday. “That’s probably the one I’m excited to go to being a Patriots fan,” Kane says. “I’ve never been to the Gillette Stadium before.”

There is certainly excitement for Kane and yet it is underpinned by conviction. There is something about the way he carries himself these days. The humility endures; a product of his upbringing, his struggles. But there is an awareness of his place in the global game, especially after the season he has had – 61 goals in 51 appearances for Bayern and a second Bundesliga title. The DFB-Pokal, too.

Kane had played in five major finals – three for Spurs, including one in the Champions League; two for England, both at the European Championship. He lost all five, failing to score in any of them. In May, he bagged a second-half hat-trick in Bayern’s 3-0 win over Stuttgart.

The 32-year-old has never been so prolific. His previous best for a season at club level was the 44 he got for Bayern in 2023-24. He is getting better with age and there is talk of the Ballon d’Or if the World Cup goes well. Of greatness. After winning nothing at Spurs, Kane knows he is viewed differently. It is a source of strength.

“There’s a different feeling, for sure,” Kane says. “For me to have that weight off my shoulders [having won things at Bayern] is important. Especially this year having the trophies and having the cup final where I scored a hat-trick – my first big moment in a final. The perception around me has probably changed in the last few years.”

Kane will win his 115th cap against Croatia, moving him to joint-third on the all-time England list, level with David Beckham, one of his heroes. Kane went to the same school in Chingford, east London. Only Peter Shilton (125) and Wayne Rooney (120) have played more for England. Of Kane’s 79 goals for his country, nine have come in the knockout rounds of World Cups and Euros. No other player in history has more than eight. Kane, on eight, is closing in on Gary Lineker’s World Cup record of 10 for England.

“I’m coming into this tournament in the best way possible; the best place physically and mentally,” Kane says. “Throughout a career, there aren’t loads of times when all the pieces of the puzzle will come together at the right moment. Talking now, I feel like I’m in that place.

“With every tournament, I always feel under pressure being the goalscorer … people expect you to score and help the team and I guess this year is no different. But I’m comfortable having that responsibility. I’m probably even more comfortable going into this year because of the way the season was for me.”

Kane dwelt for a moment on the famous photograph of him as an 11-year-old with Beckham in 2005. It was at the launch of Beckham’s football academy. Also in the picture was Katie Goodland – Kane’s future wife. “Looking back on that with me and him and obviously my wife there, who was just a friend at the time … it’s a pretty crazy picture.”

Kane’s journey with England has taken in five previous tournaments, starting with Euro 2016, and he found himself admitting that he holds on to the low points more tightly. The lowest was his critical penalty miss in the quarter-final loss to France at the 2022 World Cup.

“The downs have almost motivated me [more] to be better, going back to the last World Cup and the disappointment with the way that ended,” he says. “After the time it took me to process it all and move on, it gave me an extra bite, an extra edge to really improve and push on.”

Kane is more about looking ahead. The ultimate dream bubbles. What will be his final words in the dressing room before the team steps out against Croatia? “The messaging will be to go with freedom,” he says. “We have an extremely strong team, a physical team. That’s going to be a big aspect of our game, so go out there and use that. We’re here to go far, that’s our goal.

“The only regrets you can have coming away from tournaments is that you didn’t go for it. You can make mistakes. You can miss penalties like I’ve missed. But I don’t think those are the moments that stop you from sleeping at night.

“It’s the ones where you feel like you could have given more, you could have been a bit more free, you could have just gone for it. When you lose, you lose anyway. I’d rather lose giving it everything, showing my best abilities, whether you make mistakes or not. The message is just to be free and don’t be afraid of any outcome. Then, we’ll have a great chance.”