Harry Kane interview: My playing style, dropping deep, taking penalties and handling pressure

At 31, Harry Kane has scored over 400 goals for club and country, and has been in a rich vein of form since his 2023 move from Tottenham Hotspur to Bayern München.

Ahead of his side's UEFA Champions League knockout phase play-off opener at Celtic, he talked UEFA.com through the key aspects of his game.

On being a natural No9

I see myself as a No9, obviously, as being a goalscorer, first and foremost. But also, I like to be able to be involved in the game a lot more than, maybe, other No9s. I like to come and drop deep and link play. I like to be able to hold the ball up when the team is under pressure.

A No9 is going to be judged on goals and how many they score, but I think it's important when you're not scoring goals that you still bring an impact to the team, and that's what I try to do, both with and without the ball. A lot of work that we do in the high press starts with us, starts with me as the No9.

On his tendency to drop deep

When I was a youth team player, I played a lot in midfield. I played as a deep [holding] midfielder, [as] a No8, [as] a No10. That helped me be aware of my team-mates around me. And then, as I got older, I became more of a No9 because I was good at scoring goals, and good at making runs.

On his goalscoring instinct

Putting the ball in the back of the net was always something that I was able to. But then when I got to my early teenage years, I worked really hard on all different types of finishing because I understood that, in a game, you're not going to get just the perfect finish all the time. So, being able to work on right foot, left foot, headers, free-kicks, penalties, anything.

If you've got as much variability as possible – being able to go left or right when you're one-v-one, in the box, being a threat from headers – I think it just adds to your game and makes you even more difficult to stop.

On penalty taking

Taking a penalty is nerve-wracking and you feel those nerves. I try and take the pressure away by preparing well. Once I have that ball on the spot, I'm not thinking about anything else other than my preparation. I just focus on putting the ball down, my steps, my routine, and then, before you know it, it’s just about execution.

There have been times I haven't executed it well and I've missed penalties and, obviously, you have to accept that. But if I did the preparation that I want and train the way I want, I know that I'll score more than I'll miss and that gives me confidence, every time I take one.

On mental strength

You play a lot of games throughout the years, you don't have much time off to process anything. So, there are going to be highs and there are going to be lows, you have to accept that there are going to be times when you don't feel as good mentally as other times, but it’s just about trying to remember all the hard work that you've done to get here. It's a dream to be playing football for a living and playing in front of thousands of fans every week in stadiums.

It's a tough environment when things are going not so well, when you're losing games, but I think that's when the real kind of characters and leaders stand up and show their true colours. It's important not to change who you are, no matter what the moment, not to get too high or too low. It's just to stay focused on what you can do and try and improve and help the team, and that's what I try and to do.

Harry Kane celebrates a Bundesliga victory at BayernFC Bayern via Getty Images