Harry Kane had an early taste of the great American outdoors ahead of next summer’s World Cup as Bayern Munich’s plane to Miami was delayed by Florida thunder storms ahead of Friday’s game against Boca Juniors at the Hard Rock Stadium.
On arrival Kane was still his familiar mild and temperate self in response to repeated questions, mainly from the Argentinian press, about the volatility of the reception he can expect from Boca’s fans, who have been the most vivid spectacle of the Club World Cup so far.
“The Boca fans are obviously loud and they’re passionate. A big part of their game is to have the fans behind them, to use them as the energy and to take them into tackles and to battle.
“Their fans are going to be passionate. They’re going to be trying to push their team to win the game. So, yeah, I’m looking forward to the atmosphere. You know, sometimes it brings out the best in you as a player.”
Kane is also prepared for the physical battle the Boca defenders will offer. Boca’s tournament opener against Benfica was marked by concussive challenges, three red cards and a distinctive style of heavy-contact defending,
“It’s going to be heated, it’s going to be hot, it’s going to be a physical game. And they have some quality players as well, so we need to be ready for that. We have to be ready for the battle tomorrow.
“They’re a team who like to like to battle, like to make it difficult, like to counter press the opponent. We need to be ready for that.
“To be honest, I’ve not played against many South American teams in my career so far. So I think any game, any new team you play, is another experience. It’s hard to really say how the game is going to go tomorrow, but like I said, I know they’ll be very passionate, very hungry to get the result.
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“There’s a lot of top quality teams all around the world. It’s not just Europe where football is played and you see that at national level as well. So it doesn’t surprise me that some of the teams who are maybe not looked upon as some of the favourites, are doing well in this tournament. I don’t think any anyone needs to be taken lightly.”
