Stage set for Kane to become England
obviously, finishing – most people will agree he is at least 8/10 in all departments. But there is one area where Kane is 10/10 and that is the most important for any gifted footballer. Mentality.
Some strikers bully you physically. Whenever I was facing the best in the Premier League – Didier Drogba or Thierry Henry, for example – the biggest fear was being overpowered or outpaced. You knew exactly what you were coming up against and could prepare yourself, whether you could stop them or not.
What I see with Kane is slightly different. You do not look at him and think he has the aggression of Shearer, for example. He is not as lightning quick as Lineker. It is the overall presence that intimidates – that knowledge he is going to keep on coming. His temperament is exceptional. He will not let his head drop when a chance is missed, nor be unduly affected by lack of confidence.
Against Manchester United and Liverpool at Wembley last season, he demolished the centre-backs of two top teams simply with his aura – the defenders fearing what Kane could do and disintegrating when trying to stop him.
I cannot help but wonder how well his Tottenham team-mate, Davinson Sanchez, has been sleeping over the last few days. He is a strong, fast centre-half, but the challenge for him is not physical, it is mental. He knows better than anyone how he has to watch Kane for every second of the 90 minutes because he will never stop. This is a powerful weapon England possess – one of which every centre-half left in the competition is aware. Harry Kane has revealed he is ignoring social media while in Russia.
Speaking about what he learnt from his experience in Euro 2016, Kane said: “For me, it’s to stay away from the hype of it all. I was so excited about the Euros, being on Twitter all the time or being on news apps. You want to see what everyone is talking about. But it had a negative effect because I was reading too much. I feel like I am at my best when I am free in my mind, playing football.
“This tournament I’ve changed that and stayed off social media as much as possible. I’ve watched some of the games, but not too many where you are getting caught up in everything, and it’s hard not to get caught up in the emotions of it. I’m just focused on doing my best.”
What we have seen in this World Cup reinforces this view of Kane’s mental strength. Before England’s first game, Kane’s press conference where he basically called on the challenge from Cristiano Ronaldo in the race for the Golden Boot summed him up. I have to admit, when I first heard those comments I was not sure it was the right idea. Ronaldo had just scored a hat-trick against Spain.
Is it really wise to put yourself into a goalscoring duel with one of the greatest players of all time?
Two weeks later, Ronaldo is out with a goal less than Kane.