England manager Gareth Southgate believes Harry Kane is ready to break the Three Lions’ all-time goalscoring record when they take on Italy in their opening Euro 2024 qualifier.

Kane is tied with Wayne Rooney on 53 international goals after missing a penalty kick in England’s quarterfinal loss to France at the World Cup.

But Southgate says he has put that disappointment behind him ahead of the Group C match in Naples on Thursday.

“We’ve seen with his performances and goalscoring with his club he’s put it behind him,” Southgate told reporters.

“I know he’s going to have added motivation tomorrow night to come back and show everybody what he’s about in an England shirt. For us that’s a good position.”

Thursday will be a litmus test for England against the team that stole the Euro 2020 title from them at Wembley before relegating them to the second tier of the Nations League. England have a poor record against the world’s best teams.

“We’ve been involved in some of the biggest matches in world football, they know the level that’s required, they know they have the ability to compete at that level,” Southgate added.

“Whatever we’ve done in the past is irrelevant tomorrow night, because we have to start again and have the humility to work hard to qualify again, and it’s a great fixture for us to get that underway.

“Italy didn’t qualify for the World Cup but they still have some outstanding players and they will be highly motivated as well.”

Declan Rice, a midfielder for West Ham, stated that England’s narrow loss to France in Qatar has not deterred them from pursuing the major tournament victory that has eluded them for nearly six decades.

“I think if we look at ourselves after that France game, we took a lot of positivity from the game even though we lost,” said Rice.

“I think as a group of players there was a real belief in the room that we can compete with the best but it’s down to us now to go that one step ahead — beat a top nation, and win a trophy.

“That’s all that’s on our mind, starting tomorrow night, trying to beat Italy and starting our campaign off well.”