We need to talk about Harry Kane.
England are in the semi-finals of another major tournament. But their captain, leader, talisman, frontman and greatest ever goalscorer looks about as mobile as an arthritic scarecrow.
OK. That is mean. He has scored two goals in the five games at the European Championship so far, performances on him have generally ranged from mediocre to non-existent and he appears to be struggling with his fitness. But there are clearly questions to be asked here.
Questions like: how fit is he? What does he currently bring to the team? And is he now the English Cristiano Ronaldo?
In previous years that last question would have been a gushing compliment, but in 2024 it borders on criticism: a suggestion that Kane is being kept in the team on reputation alone and that his manager lacks the courage to make a difficult decision . But could that really be true?
The fitness question seems the most relevant, as a fit and in-form Kane is undoubtedly one of the best strikers in the world.
Well, he has been fit enough to start all England’s games at the European Championship, playing 464 minutes, playing two games away and being sent off in three minutes (in the 70th minute against Denmark in the middle group match, the 105th against Slovakia in the round). of 16 and the 109th against Switzerland in Saturday’s quarter-final).
He came into the tournament with a back injury suffered towards the end of the club season with Bayern Munich, which then head coach Thomas Tuchel called a “complete blockage”, which was an accurate description of England’s current attack. “It has gotten worse and he is having trouble with daily movements,” Tuchel said in May.
Kane received treatment from his personal medical team in an attempt to get fit for the tournament and although he has started all five matches, the eye test shows he is far from his best, meaning he can perform seamlessly and smoothly. Elegantly become the creator and finisher of a team in seconds. He doesn’t seem able to do that at the moment.
Harry Kane has not shown his best form at Euro 2024 (Stefan Matzke – sampics/Getty Images)
In an England shirt this summer, his movement is awkward, clumsy and stunted (on a volley attempt in the final group match against Slovenia his body shape looked almost distorted), his left-hand play is weaker as a result and he lacks the strength and zip to beat defenders to direct balls and crosses into the penalty area.
England head coach Gareth Southgate appeared to try to inflict an injury on Kane so he would have an excuse to drop him when the pair collided late in the match against Switzerland (this is a joke, don’t call me bad names in the comments) which caused Kane to suffer from cramps, but although he was substituted shortly afterwards, he says he is fit for Wednesday’s semi-final against the Netherlands.
“I’m doing well. I was just tired,” said Kane, who turns 31 later this month. “I had a little cramp there. I tripped over the water bottles and got cramps in both calves. The boss obviously made a quick decision, with Ivan (Toney, who came on for him) being a proven penalty taker. He came along and did the job.”
For Portugal, the 39-year-old Ronaldo proved impossible to drop in this tournament and almost impossible to beat (he used to be was substituted after 66 minutes against Georgia, but given his team had already progressed to the knockout stages for that final group match and made eight other changes, one wonders why he played at all), as they went out on the same last eight stage to France , even after penalties.
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Although Kane doesn’t possess Ronaldo’s ego, he has a similar status for England – a status highlighted by his 44 goals in 45 appearances for new club Bayern last season (while Ronaldo was in the Saudi Pro League, of course). But Southgate has, over time, proven more than capable of making bold decisions, such as dropping Marcus Rashford, Mason Mount, Jack Grealish and two of his former firm favorites in Raheem Sterling and Jordan Henderson.
Leaving Kane out of the starting XI on Wednesday would be a bomb if he trumps all of the above combined.
It almost certainly won’t happen. But is that necessary?
What was striking against Switzerland was how little Kane became involved in England’s build-up.
Yes, he would stretch the Swiss backline and yes, he would come deep to receive the ball, but as this link image showing England’s passing movements shows, Kane (you can find him near the center circle) was a stranger in our midst. :
It’s not unusual for a team’s central striker to not have strong connections when it comes to these graphics, but it’s telling how little involvement Kane had against Switzerland.
In that respect he resembled Ronaldo, who was equally anonymous for Portugal in the quarter-final on Friday:
It’s nothing new for Kane to drop deep – he’s been doing it for years, and with great success – but his low number of touches in the third opposition against Switzerland are another indicator of his lack of sharpness:
Sometimes he goes clear at deep, even in the wing-backs, and can get in the way at times when England would certainly be better served with a more established center up front, especially if Kane’s current fitness level is not nearly as high as usual.
There is certainly an argument to be made that it is more useful to remain on the last line of the opposition defense to hold their centre-backs and create space between the lines to allow teammates like Phil Foden, Jude Bellingham and Bukayo can exploit Saka – as in this example against Denmark, where Foden and Bellingham can slip behind their midfield.
But if that is to be Kane’s primary function, there are other, fitter and fresher players in the squad who can do that, all while offering more to England in terms of being able to press or go behind.
“He’s not going to drop Harry Kane,” former England international turned leading British pundit Gary Neville said of Southgate on Sky Sports after the Swiss match. “He is one of its leaders, one of the greatest English football playersrs we’ve ever had. There’s no doubt he hasn’t been at his best in this tournament, but so has the team. His service is not great.
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“(Kane should) Stay high, between those two centre-backs and then drop in a little bit to try to bring those centre-backs in so the points can go back again.
‘He doesn’t look like himself. He doesn’t look as sharp when the ball is passed to him, in and around the penalty area. It looks like he can’t finish his touch and his shot like he normally would, but he won’t be dropped unless he’s hurt.”
With Toney making a positive impact off the bench in both knockout matches and Ollie Watkins being able to offer both Kane and Toney different attributes in terms of pace, pressing and tracking, there is an argument to be made, a debate to be had . .
It’s probably redundant given Kane’s status, his relationship with Southgate (it’s believed he has the England manager’s ear, and vice versa), his experience, temperament and obvious goal-scoring ability, 100 per condition or not.
Tournaments have been won before by teams with ineffective strikers.
Portugal played with Ronaldo and Nani as split strikers in their defending Euro 2016 triumph, France had a non-scoring Olivier Giroud as a striker as they won the 2018 World Cup (he didn’t even register a shot on target despite playing in the match all seven games and starting six of them), and had done exactly the same to the lone, goalless striker Stephane Guivarc’h when he won the same competition twenty years earlier.
The difference was that all those players were fit, and their contribution was significant to teams that, at least in France’s case, were still scoring goals.
But England are coming through the games in Germany in an unconvincing manner, and for long periods they just can’t seem to score. They are not generating momentum, their expected goals tally is low and they are relying on moments like Bellingham’s bicycle kick and Saka’s perfect shot – equalizer, against Slovakia and Switzerland respectively, which came in the 95th and 80th minutes respectively and England’s goals were . first attempts on goal in the match.
If these sentences don’t read like a recipe for winning a tournament, then they probably aren’t.
England have made it to the last four, but to lift the trophy in Berlin next Sunday they will certainly need Kane to be somewhere close to his best; if he is unable to do so, it may be sacrilege to say so, but they would probably be better off with someone else up front, especially if the attacker’s main role is occupying defenders.
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(Top Photos: Getty Images)