Kane makes fools of his critics again
Harry finally gets off the mark and now the England captain has France in his sights
THE blow that may finally stop everybody talking came in the very last moments of the first half. Arriving like all good centreforwards do on the end of a rapid England break from deep, Harry Kane took one touch of the ball with his right foot to steady himself and then drove it hard and straight into the back of the net with his second.
There was nothing particularly cultured about it. Nothing that Kane did that would take years of practice to master.
But the goal was dispatched with an element of conviction and confidence that the England captain has always had and perhaps will never lose.
It was Kane’s first goal of this World Cup and it arrived in timely fashion.
After England shook themselves from an early torpor that threatened to give Senegal a platform in the game that they had done little to earn, they cut loose to bury the champions of Africa under three superbly made and taken goals.
Next up is France here at the weekend in the quarter-finals, though, and that will be a different level of contest altogether.
That is likely to be a game settled and decided by small margins. France are the defending champions and are beginning to look like it.
If England are to beat them, it is likely that Kane will be heavily and directly involved.
So this goal and indeed his role in the creation of two others came at a timely juncture — and may now silence the seemingly endless and dreary debate about whether he should actually be in the team at all.
There are those who seek to tell Kane how to play. They tell him he spends too much time in the wrong areas of the field, coming deep in search of the ball instead of occupying the traditional No 9’s territory on the edge of the opposition penalty area.
Kane’s numbers — more than a half century of goals for England and almost 200 in the Premier League — would suggest that he knows what he is doing, that his style of play has tended to work over the years.
But still he has to listen to those who seek to tell him to do it differently and that noise only grows louder when he endures spells during which the goals won’t come. All centre-forwards have periods when they don’t score goals. Kane has fewer than most. But when he does have one, the tolerance level of some England followers tends to be pretty low.
It was the same in the Euros in 2021. Kane was not prolific in the early stages of that tournament either and did not score a goal until he converted England’s second in the last-16 game against Germany.
So there were some neat comparisons here. His goal scored with the final kick of the first half was his first of this World Cup but was taken with the pure, simple confidence of a player who never seems to entertain self-doubt for long, if indeed at all.
In the Euros, he went on to score in his next two games. It would be no surprise if he does the same here in Qatar, even if Saturday’s meeting with France back at this stadium will present England with a standard of opponent they have not met so far during this tournament.
Early on in this game, it wasn’t easy for Kane. Senegal presented a bank of four defenders with a holding pair stationed in front of them. When England moved forwards into the Africans’ half, their wide players dropped back and in to complete what was essentially a defensive eight.
With Jude Bellingham detailed to link England’s holding pair of Declan Rice and Jordan Henderson with Kane, the captain seemed reluctant to drop into the pockets he naturally feels drawn to. When he did, he found the Senegal attention direct and physical.
The whack Kane took from Abdou Diallo in the 14th minute was a fearsome one and should have led to a booking for the Senegal player.
England were not good for half an hour. They didn’t move the ball quickly enough and played far too much of their football back and across in front of the two banks of green.
Rarely did an England runner get up and beyond Kane to provide an option. During this period, England struggled to create chances but the two best passes of the night still came from Kane.
One, in the 13th minute, was a cross struck like an arrow by his left foot across goal. Had Bukayo Saka gambled and thrown his head at the ball, England’s breakthrough may have come sooner.
Quarter of an hour later, Kane did it again and once more Saka was the player who almost benefited.
During this difficult spell for England — a spell when Senegal actually looked the more switched on in attacking areas — Kane was short of opportunities. England’s use of the ball was not proving good enough.
Then, after Henderson’s opening goal, Saka did provide Kane with an opportunity. That one was spooned over uncharacteristically from 12 yards though replays did show the ball to have been slightly behind him when he struck it.
Kane’s goal arrived soon enough, though, just like anybody who has watched him play often enough always knew it would.
It was interesting to note that Gareth Southgate left Kane on until late in the game, long after it had been won. Maybe he sensed his skipper still needed to find more confidence. If so, France should be wary.