England Captain Feels the Pull of American Football

Harry Kane won't just be chasing goals in Boston on Tuesday; he'll be chasing a bit of his own American sports fantasy, reports the Athletic. When England faces Ghana at the temporarily rebranded "Boston Stadium," the striker will finally step onto the turf he's long admired from afar: Gillette Stadium, home of his NFL obsession, the New England Patriots, and his sporting idol-turned-friend, Tom Brady. The 32-year-old England captain's attachment to the NFL runs deep enough that he once ran a fantasy league and talks, "far more seriously than people realize," about one day becoming an NFL kicker, writes Jack Pitt-Brooke.

The spark came at 17, when he watched ESPN's The Brady 6 and saw in Brady's overlooked, unathletic prospect a version of himself, then struggling and doubted by many. Since then, Kane has modeled Brady's relentless self-belief and late-career evolution, turning himself into one of soccer's elite forwards while striking up a real friendship with the seven-time Super Bowl winner. An eventual switch in sport remains possible—Dallas Cowboys kicker and former soccer pro Brandon Aubrey is a proof of concept—but for now, Kane's Brady-inspired quest is about adding to his soccer legacy, having already established himself as both England and Tottenham Hotspur's all-time top goal scorer. Read more from the Athletic here.