Gary Lineker speaks exclusively to FIFA.com * 1986 adidas Golden Boot winner reflects on World Cup memories * He thinks Harry Kane will be vital to England’s chances at Russia 2018

Most footballers tend to evolve during their playing days. As their bodies slow down, forwards generally drop deeper, while midfielders will sometimes slot into defence.

However, Gary Lineker’s playing career followed a fairly consistent pattern. His ability to sniff out a chance in the opposition penalty area was honed, perfected and maintained to such a standard that the man who claimed the adidas Golden Boot at the 1986 FIFA World Cup Mexico™ was still snatching poacher's goals up until his retirement almost a decade later.

Lineker’s evolution has come since hanging up his boots. He is now one of the most recognisable faces in British sports broadcasting, boasts a hefty social media presence, and the former Leicester City, Tottenham Hotspur and Barcelona forward also helped conduct the Final Draw for the 2018 World Cup.

FIFA.com sat down with the likeable Lineker to discuss his World Cup memories, reminisce about his first goal on the global stage and assess England’s chances in Russia.

*FIFA.com: You’ve said how much the World Cup has meant to you since you were a child. What did it mean to you to play in your first, at Mexico 1986? Gary Lineker: *I was immeasurably excited. It’s what every player wants to do. When I got there, it was such a difficult place to play – in Monterrey, it was 43 degrees Celsius. It was just so hot. After that we moved to the Azteca and it was amazing – that was everything we’d thought a World Cup should be.

*Which of the goals from 1986 stands out in your memory, if you had to pick one, and why would that be? *If I had to pick one from ’86, I’d probably go with the first one against Poland because without the first one the others might not have ever followed. I’d gone a few games without a goal for England, my place was under threat along with everyone else in the team because we’d had a bad start.

The first goal was vital, it just changed everything. After that, the confidence comes back, a bit of relief. A few minutes later I got another and then another. I had a hat-trick and, all of a sudden, the world’s a different place. Without the first one, my life may have been very different.