Growing calls to knight Harry Kane if England win World Cup
Harry Kane is arguably the greatest England striker in history. There have been growing calls to knight him if England lift the trophy. The prolific striker is currently in the form of his life, having scored an incredible 73 goals for club and country since the start of the 2025/26 season. He is already on six at the World Cup, putting him firmly in the race to collect the Golden Boot.
Kane will be hoping to add to his impressive tally against Norway in the quarter-finals on Saturday night. The match has been billed as a battle of the strikers, with Erling Haaland lining up against the Three Lions. Many England fans will back Kane to fire them to victory and set up a semi-final meeting with either Argentina or Switzerland.
Kane's legendary status and knighthood precedent
More goals against Norway would help Kane to solidify his legendary status in English football. He is already the country's all-time top scorer and winning the World Cup would make him the greatest Three Lions striker in history, no questions asked. Most of the time, a player needs to win something with England to justify being knighted. The likes of Sir Geoff Hurst and Sir Bobby Charlton received their honours after leading the nation to glory back in 1966.
So, if Kane helps England to add their second star this summer, what reason would there be to deny him that same privilege? Even if this World Cup ends in tears for the Three Lions, there's still a chance he could be knighted in the near future. Sir Harry Kane does have a nice ring to it, after all.
Poll and political motion
Do you think Harry Kane should be knighted if England win the World Cup? Have your say in our poll below. But lifting that iconic golden trophy would almost certainly be enough to hand Kane the ultimate honour. There are already growing calls to knight the 32-year-old, with a motion being tabled by Liberal Democrat politician Layla Moran earlier this week. Moran argued that Kane had shown "inspirational leadership on and off the pitch" and noted that he "has now scored more goals than Pele at World Cups."
However, others might argue that even if England achieve World Cup glory this summer, it could still be too early to honour Kane, who already has an MBE. Rarely are footballers knighted when they are still active and only 16 players have joined that exclusive club in the history of the English game.
