Gary Lineker gave a blunt four-word response to Harry Maguire's assertion that Harry Kane is not preoccupied with matching Lionel Messi and Kylian Mbappe's World Cup goal tallies. The exchange occurred on Tuesday's episode of the Rest is Football on Netflix, where Lineker, Maguire, and Joe Cole discussed England's captain and the race for the Golden Boot.
Lineker's Direct Rebuttal
Lineker posed the question to Maguire: “Messi, Haaland, Mbappe [goals] - Harry [Kane] will be watching that, won't he?” Maguire defended Kane's mentality, saying, “He will be watching it, but he's not the type of player - he's so humble - I don't think he's thinking 'he's scored, I've got to score'. I don't think he's one of those who focuses on other people. He's such a team player.”
Lineker, a former striker himself, immediately interjected with a dismissive “I think that's b*****ks,” before laughing. Cole had earlier remarked that Lineker's expression suggested disagreement, invoking a “strikers' union” mentality.
Maguire Defends His Stance
Maguire stood by his assessment, elaborating that Kane prioritizes the team over individual glory. “No, he's a team player, he would put the team first. He loves scoring goals, you don't score that many goals without loving scoring goals. But I don't think he's too fussed around other players whereas, you know, Ronaldo, Messi: they've always been competing and things like that,” the Manchester United defender explained.
Kane has already scored twice in England's opening 4-2 win over Croatia. Messi leads the tournament with five goals for Argentina, while Mbappe has four for France, matching Erling Haaland's tally for Norway. Kane will have the chance to add to his account when England faces Ghana on Tuesday evening in their second Group L match.
Rooney's Insight on Ronaldo
The discussion echoes recent comments from Wayne Rooney about Cristiano Ronaldo's mentality. After Messi scored a hat-trick, Rooney said on BBC, “He'll have been raging, in a good way. That's how he's pushed himself, that's his mentality. Everything is a challenge to him. Over the years, him and Messi have pushed each other to reach these levels.” Ronaldo, however, failed to score as Portugal drew 1-1 with DR Congo.
