The Royal Marines told England boss Gareth Southgate that Harry Kane would make the perfect captain, the striker has revealed.
The Bayern Munich player heads back to Scotland for a friendly at Hampden Park, where he first skippered the national team, on Tuesday.
Six years ago Southgate took his squad for a surprise weekend at the Commando Training Centre Royal Marines in Devon.
They camped, hiked and were dunked in the feared sheep dip as the Marines tested their physical and mental strength during a boding exercise which helped Southgate decide his skipper.
A few days later, Kane was handed the armband and scored a last-gasp leveller in the 2-2 draw in Glasgow.
“I remember that trip very clearly,” he said. “We had a fantastic time and I think Gareth did use that to see who stood out in terms of leadership.
“Leadership comes in many ways. It isn’t just the guy in the front shooting the paintball. Maybe the way I got on with the Marines and the way I handled certain situations.
“I know that Gareth asked some of the Marines afterwards who they thought were natural leaders, who were approachable and who other players were leaning towards to talk to. Things like that.
“I think that might have helped in me becoming captain. It was a fantastic few days. Some great memories that will be with me forever.
“It helped the whole squad get to know each other. We had no phones for three days, we were camping in the woods. That helped us, not just as a team. It helped us become closer.
“We did a camping thing where we learned to put up our own tents and had the rations the Marine guys have when they’re going to war.
“We woke up at sunrise and did a trek with all the stuff on our backs. Then we did an obstacle course. That was fun, although I think they left out some of the tougher parts.
“We had to follow the Marines. Whenever they shouted ‘down’ we had to crawl in the mud, though stones and the sheep dip.
“So we were all soaking wet, with sand and mud everywhere, and we thought we were going to get in a car and go back to camp, until they told us we were walking back – which was another hour on the road. That was probably the hardest part, it was mentally tough.
“Then we got back to the place we were staying. I was looking forward to a nice, hot shower and it was just a bit of water dripping out. It was just brutal.”
Kane returns to Hampden as England’s record-breaking skipper with 58 goals in 84 caps.
Back in 2017, Kane scored just his sixth international goal with a close-range volley from Raheem Sterling’s inch-perfect pass and remembers the World Cup qualifying draw well.
“First of all I was extremely proud to be leading the boys out and I thought it was an amazing atmosphere, even from the national anthems,” said the 30-year-old.
“The noise at Hampden Park is still one of the best atmosphere’s I’ve been a part of. The game was OK. We got ahead and then they quickly turned it around with two great free-kicks and then you’re thinking about being an Englishman losing to Scotland.
“That isn’t the most ideal situation – especially when it’s your first game as captain, so it was nice to score in the last minute.
“To be honest, I don’t think I realised how important the goal was until after the game, then I heard all the talk around it. For me, not to lose my first game as captain was important and it’s a nice memory.”
Kane has linked up with England for the first time since his £100million move from Tottenham to Bayern.
He has scored three goals in his first three starts and slotted into life in Germany, including a club photoshoot while dressed in Lederhosen and posing with fake beer.
He said: “It was alright actually. The shorts were a bit heavier than I thought. It wasn’t even real beer – it was just to look good.
“We have a day when all the players and staff go to Oktoberfest. I don’t know when that will be, but I’ve heard it’s really good.”
Leverkusen 'not interested' in unbeaten season before Europa League defeat, says Xhaka
Bayer Leverkusen were "not interested" in maintaining their unbeaten record, according to Granit Xhaka, who acknowledged his frustrations after Wednesday's Europa League final disappointment.
Xabi Alonso's Bundesliga champions had not suffered defeat since the final game of last season against Bochum, but succumbed to their next loss in the decisive moment against Atalanta in Dublin.
Ademola Lookman stole the headlines with a remarkable hat-trick, powering Gian Piero Gasperini's team to their first title in 61 years, when Atalanta won the Coppa Italia.
A 3-0 defeat ensured Leverkusen will have to settle for, at most, a domestic double as they look to bounce back on Saturday in the DFB-Pokal final.
Yet Xhaka insisted Alonso's side never had the undefeated streak in their minds as soon as kick-off arrived at the Aviva Stadium.
"Honestly, we're not interested in the unbeaten record," the former Arsenal midfielder said to RTL. "We didn't care about that from the start.
"It's about the game and unfortunately we lost a final today. That's football.
"We said yesterday that it would be a difficult game. Compliments to Atalanta."
Leverkusen's unbeaten streak spanned nine months and 51 games this season, starting their 2023-24 campaign with a first-round DFB-Pokal thrashing of lowly Teutonia Ottensen in mid-August.
Alonso's impressive men triumphed in 42 of those matches during their historic unbeaten run across all competitions, drawing the other nine as Leverkusen coasted to their first Bundesliga title in history.
Scoring 143 goals and conceding just 39 across that dominant period, not many would have expected Gasperini's side to shutout Leverkusen and beat goalkeeper Matej Kovar three times in the process.
Leverkusen are the first league-title winners to lose the UEFA Cup/Europa League final in the same season since Benfica in 2013-14, and the first German side to do since Borussia Dortmund in 2001-02.
In single-game only finals, this was also the biggest margin of defeat for a German team since Eintracht Frankfurt lost 7-3 to Real Madrid in the 1960 European Cup, perhaps explaining Xhaka's annoyance.
Europa League misery will not taint Alonso's Leverkusen pride
Xabi Alonso will not allow Bayer Leverkusen's Europa League final defeat against Atalanta to alter his pride, after their historic 51-game unbeaten run ended on Wednesday.
The Bundesliga champions were eyeing an unlikely treble, with the DFB-Pokal final to come this weekend, but those plans came crashing down in a 3-0 loss to Atalanta.
Ademola Lookman single-handedly powered Gian Piero Gasperini's side to their first title in 61 years, producing an individual performance for the ages with a decisive hat-trick.
European heartbreak marked Leverkusen's first loss this season, with their last defeat coming to Bochum on the last day of the 2022-23 Bundesliga campaign, as Alonso's side were finally stopped.
Yet the former Liverpool and Bayern Munich midfielder says nothing can take away from Leverkusen's memorable campaign.
"For me the result today does not change one bit how I feel about my players or what we have been doing," the Leverkusen head coach told TNT Sports.
"It hurts because we wanted to lift the trophy but you can't have everything. We lifted the Bundesliga and we have the chance to lift the DFB-Pokal on Saturday."
Leverkusen are the first team to win the league title but lose the UEFA Cup/Europa League final in the same term since Benfica in 2013-14, and the first German side to do since Borussia Dortmund in 2001-02.
"This season and achievements have surpassed all expectations," Alonso continued.
"I was hoping and getting ready to maybe do something great but this has been so much more.
"To achieve what we have for a club like Leverkusen is great. To be in the last week of the season having lifted the Bundesliga and then going for the Pokal too means a lot.
"First year as a coach, it is going quite well!"
A monumental occasion at the Aviva Stadium marked Atalanta's first-ever major European trophy as they became the 10th different Italian side to do so, second only to teams from England (13).
Alonso was unsurprised by the excellence of Gasperini and his Atalanta side, however.
"It is not something they have just done this year, they have been doing it for many years," the Spaniard said, acknowledging the work of 66-year-old Gasperini.
"They are a special team. Normally we get in better positions ourselves but today we could not.
"We were not able to come back and get that back. It was not meant to be.
"The unbeaten run has come to an end but congratulations to Atalanta, they deserve it, so nothing more to say."
'We wrote history' – Gasperini and Lookman cherish Atalanta's Europa League glory
Gian Piero Gasperini and Ademola Lookman both cherished creating Atalanta history after ending Bayer Leverkusen's unbeaten run and securing Europa League glory.
Lookman produced a performance worthy of the most important European moment in Atalanta's history, securing the club's first-ever major trophy on the continent after his dazzling hat-trick.
The Nigeria winger is just the sixth player to manage a treble in a major UEFA final and the first since Jupp Heynckes’ for Borussia Mönchengladbach against Twente in 1975.
Lookman will be the toast of Bergamo when Gasperini's side head home, boasting their first trophy in 61 years – after the Coppa Italia – following a 3-0 triumph to end Leverkusen's 51-game unbeaten run.
"One of the best nights of my life," the hat-trick hero told TNT Sports in Dublin.
"Amazing performance from the team, we did it, we did it, we did it! I haven't got much else to say, but fantastic."
Lookman is also just the second player to score a treble for an Italian side in the final of a major European competition, after Pierino Prati for Milan against Ajax in the 1969 European Cup
Preparing to leave the Aviva Stadium with the Europa League trophy in hand, Lookman could not wait to celebrate a seismic moment in the club's history.
"We've got to celebrate, we made history tonight," he added.
Gasperini, aged 66 years and 117 days on Wednesday, is the oldest coach to win his debut major European final, and the second Italian coach to win the Europa League after Maurizio Sarri in 2019.
The veteran Atalanta mastermind echoed Lookman's sentiment, after securing just a second trophy in the Italian club's history.
"I think we wrote history, also for the way we won it," said Gasperini, speaking to UEFA's official media channels.
"It was just extraordinary, we defeated Liverpool, Sporting who won the championship. When we faced Liverpool they were first in the Premier League... And now the German champions.
"Incredible. The boys were extraordinary, a memorable performance."
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