Immortal
Call it bravado, self-belief or even arrogance, if you like. To me, it demonstrates the certainty Kane has in his ability to score every game. The penalties he struck against Panama put his words into action. He took those spot-kicks with impressive, reassuring swagger.
Striking the second in the same position as he placed the first was a message that this is a striker at the top of his game mentally, who has put in the hours on the training pitch and believes he can hit that ball precisely where he wants.
It does not matter if it was the Panama goalkeeper or Manuel Neuer. This is a World Cup, a global TV audience, but he took those penalties as if in a practice match.
Watching Kane from afar I always sensed he was that type of character. I had the pleasure of chatting to him at Tottenham’s training ground towards the end of last season and his first words said everything. “I have a man to catch, don’t I?” he said, referencing his contest with Mo Salah for the Golden Boot.
I could see how much drive he has. I told him I think Tottenham are on the verge of being a great side, and he has a responsibility to ensure everyone around has his attitude. The same applies with England. Gareth Southgate made Kane captain because he will want him to push his team-mates in the same direction.
Kane has not reached the Lineker and Shearer pedestal yet, but I feel at the end of his career we will be talking about him as England’s record goalscorer and the record Premier League scorer. He is young enough to ensure his goalscoring achievements yield more major trophies than Lineker and Shearer.
Goalscoring, by its nature, is a selfish business. It is healthy to be obsessed with goal records because I have seen with strikers how those targets keep them hungry for more. But there will also come a moment when Kane must ask himself if the individual feats matter as much as winning team silverware.
The longer England stay in this competition, the more Kane will have to contemplate. He will want both, of course, but there is a prize at stake far greater than the Golden Boot.
He may have arrived in Russia seeking to replicate Lineker. Should England make progress, he may start to believe he can leave the country inviting comparisons to Bobby Moore. If England are to beat Colombia then Dele Alli and Jesse Lingard will be vital. England’s three group stage opponents all used a back three but Colombia play with a back four and two defensive midfielders screening in front of them. That will shut down the space between the lines where Alli and Lingard (below) like to operate and they will have to work together to create openings.
That means one of them needs to push on to offer a threat over the top – drawing at least If you remember Radamel Falcao only for his disappointing spells at Manchester United and Chelsea then you might think England have an easy task keeping Colombia’s No9 quiet tonight.
This, though, is a very different player to the one who struggled so badly during two seasons in the Premier League.
Since leaving England the 32-year-old has gone back to Monaco and seems a man reborn.
He scored 24 goals in 35 games last season and has found his confidence again. That is partly due to a change in style, with a man whose game was built one defender with them – while the other drops in to the space that has just been created. With Harry Kane always keeping at least one centre-back occupied the onus is on Alli and Lingard to provide the unexpected, varying their runs to keep Colombia guessing. I would like to see Lingard, say, peel into the channel one minute and then be on the shoulder of a centreback the next.
Style of movement is also important, with short bursts instantly getting a defender’s attention and distracting them from what Kane might be doing, for example. Colombia are a top-drawer team and their two young centre-backs, Davinson Sanchez and Yerry Mina, are serious talents. But both are raw – they are only 22 and 23 respectively – and intelligent, combined movements can draw them out of position and create space. on pace having to adapt after losing that explosiveness following a series of knee injuries.
Instead he has become a more rounded player, adept at dropping deep to link play and then knowing when to bend his runs when Colombia attack. His positioning is excellent too – he never just stands on one centre-back, as some strikers do, but instead drifts between them to keep them guessing.
His finishing is as good as ever, as we saw with that wonderful goal against Poland.
He is clinical and England will have a real job on their hands keeping him quiet. Watching Colombia in person I was struck by the movement of their front four. We have touched on Falcao but behind him the trio of Juan Cuadrado, Juan Quintero and James Rodriguez are exceptionally good. They nominally have positions – Cuadrado on the right, Quintero on the left and Rodriguez as No 10 – but in practice they switch continually.
It is done fluidly and without warning, which makes them so hard to pick up. All of them can pick a pass while Cuadrado’s pace and Quintero’s skill make them difficult to track.
It seems likely that Rodriguez will be on The knockout games of a major tournament are when you see players’ true characters. I have played in matches where individuals have frozen and gone into their shells. They don’t want the ball, they don’t communicate and they don’t do their jobs. Fear turns them to stone.
I’ve also seen the opposite happen. In the 2007 World Cup, Kelly Smith went to another level, scoring twice against Japan and dragging the team forward with an infectious enthusiasm. She changed the dynamic and we all followed her lead.
I saw something the bench due to injury, which would be a huge blow for Colombia, but their fluid system will remain the same with possibly Luis Muriel coming in.
That movement is the biggest threat to England. An international side will never have that innate positional sense and understanding you can get at club level, so communication is vital. England’s back five need to be talking constantly, saying who they’ve got and then clearly passing on their man when he runs past them. If there’s any confusion then Colombia will punish them. similar from Luis Suarez and Edinson Cavani for Uruguay against Portugal on Saturday night – two strikers tracking back and giving every drop of sweat they had. They made it easy for their team-mates to follow them.
Gareth Southgate needs similar from some of the big characters in his team tonight, and he will certainly know a lot more about his players by the end of 90 (or 120) minutes. Football at this level is obviously about ability, but character is often just as vital. I think England’s key men are up to the task.
Tough test: Gareth Southgate will find out a lot about his players against Colombia tonight