Harry Kane worries all of England

“These two matches were difficult for me (against Croatia and Scotland, editor’s note) but I didn’t have any particular problem. “ This is what Harry Kane (27) explained in particular after England’s disappointing draw against the Tartan Army two days ago (0-0). According to many observers and bookmakers before the start of this Euro 2020, the Three Lions were among the favorites, alongside France and Portugal. A status that could be explained in large part by the presence of the captain of this English selection, considered one of the best number nine in the world and who had just completed the 2020-2021 financial year with the top scorer trophy (23 ) and that of best assists (14) in the Premier League with Tottenham. Except that the balance of power has been reversed: England continues to disappoint in the game and its attacking leader is only a shadow of himself on the pitch.

If the Three Lions are in 2nd place in group D (4 points) and if they will play their qualification on the occasion of the third and last group match against the Czech Republic, this can partly be explained by the two Harry Kane’s poor performance at the forefront of the English attack. Aligned twice with Phil Foden and Raheem Sterling at his side, the serial goalscorer of Spurs only touched 6 balls in the opposing penalty area, while he played 82 minutes against Croatia and he spent 74 minutes on the lawn at Wembley against Scotland. Worse still: usually so skilful in the decisive zone, the native of London did not frame any of his 3 small shots attempted in the competition.

The invisible Harry Kane worries England

Harry Kane also hits a very low number of balls (26) on average per game. Compared to the center-forward of the other selections present at Euro 2020, it is a figure that places him at the bottom of the hierarchy, far behind Memphis Depay (73.7), Alvaro Morata (50.6), Cristiano Ronaldo (47) or Karim Benzema (44.2), only ahead of Teemu Pukki (25.6) and Ante Rebic (24.1) with a short header. Asked about his poor performance since the start of the tournament, the captain of the selection led by Gareth Southgate calmed the game, trying to reassure. “I did not feel that I was not up to the task physically. Honestly, I approached these two (first) games feeling as good as during the whole season ”, he also let go after the meeting against the Tartan Army.

The England manager also kept his confidence in him and confirmed that Harry Kane would indeed be part of the starting XI in the third and final match of the group stage against Czechia. “He’s our most important player, there’s no doubt about it. […] He is fundamental, not only for the goals he scores, but also for our game, in the construction and for all that he brings. I know there will be a lot of questions being asked about him right now, but he’s been there 100 times already ”, he confided in particular, in remarks reported by the Telegraph.

The English striker confirms his difficulties in major international competitions. During Euro 2016, he had not scored a single goal in 4 games, while during the 2018 World Cup, he had found the net 6 times (including a hat-trick against Panama in the hens) while remaining silent during the knockout phase. This situation, hardly imaginable not long ago, of one of the darlings of the country across the Channel, necessarily worries in England, where the press and football fans hardly talk about that. All the more so before a match against the Czech Republic (Tuesday, 9 p.m.) which could put an end to the English adventure in this Euro 2020. An outcome far from that dreamed of and imagined by the people in His Majesty’s Kingdom before the start of this European Nations Championship.