​England captain Harry Kane has admitted he is impressed by United States President Donald Trump’s golf abilities and even wishes he could match them at the age of 80. Ahead of the World Cup quarterfinal between England and Norway, Kane confirmed Trump’s claim that they played a round of golf together last year in Palm Beach, Florida. He noted that the President’s game was “pretty good,” particularly for someone his age.
“I played all right, to be honest,” Kane told The Athletic about the round with Trump. “We played about 18 months ago. He invited me to come down to Palm Beach when I was there. When the President invites you somewhere… It was a pretty surreal experience just to meet him, and to play golf with him.”
He added, “His golf is pretty good, to be honest. I hope I can play golf as well as him when I’m his age, that’s for sure. It was a unique experience. I’m just grateful he invited me down to play.”
Kane’s compliment came after Trump praised him earlier in the week, calling him a great person, golfer and footballer. The former president also took to Truth Social to post after Kane led England to a 3-2 Round of 16 victory over Mexico last Sunday, declaring, “Harry Kane of England is a GREAT player!!!”
England’s quarterfinal against Erling Haaland and Norway is scheduled for Saturday, with the winner set to face Argentina or Switzerland in the semifinals. England start as -220 favorites to advance, though several analysts believe Norway has momentum following their upset of Brazil in the previous round.
Norway coach Ståle Solbakken stressed that the pressure sits more on England, who have only reached the FIFA World Cup semifinals three times (in 2018, 1990 and 1966) and have not claimed the title since their 1966 triumph. “England has more pressure than us, but we put more pressure on our performance,” Solbakken said, according to ESPN. “When the game starts, I don’t think the players think about the pressure. It’s 11 vs. 11—pressure is more about the talk beforehand. The whole nation has lived a good life in the last three weeks; the emotions are really here, and tomorrow is a Saturday game and it won’t get any better than tomorrow.”
Norway’s star striker Erling Haaland shared his coach’s view. “I think there are some clear favourites out there—England is one of them—and all of you should put every single bit of pressure on the England lads,” Haaland said.
Solbakken declined to frame the matchup as Haaland versus Kane, noting that both players remain in contention for the Golden Boot. “I think it’s Norway vs. England, but it’s no secret that Kane is England’s number-one match-winner and Erling is the same for us,” he said.