KANE PROVES FEARS OVER HIS CONFIDENCE ARE MISPLACED
Captain proves that fears over confidence after Euro 2016 disaster were misplaced
IT SEEMS strange to recall now that there were some who worried about the future of Harry Kane in the aftermath of the last major tournament in which England participated. Amid the smoking ruins of Roy Hodgson’s Euro 2016 campaign, there were concerns that Kane’s confidence had taken such a battering that it might take some time for him to recover.
It was not that Kane had performed worse than any of his team-mates. It was just that more had been expected of him. In the collective melt down against Iceland in Nice, Kane, England’s designated corner- taker, looked bewildered, too. When he fired a free-kick so far wide that it nearly took out one of the additional assistant referees, it was a neat symbol of a desperate evening.
But the fears about his confidence were utterly misplaced. Actually, they could not have been more misguided. Kane scored more goals than he had ever scored before in the league, hitting 29 in the Premier League for Spurs and emerging as a genuine world-class talent. Last season, he went one better and scored 30. He has been nothing if not consistently prolific. His confidence was just fine.
When he scored England’s second goal against Nigeria, a fierce, low drive five minutes before half-time that should have been saved but which was too hot for Francis Uzoho to handle, it was another reminder of quite how valuable he has become to this England team and quite how dependent we have become on his goals.
It was also his first match since Gareth Southgate announced that Kane would be England captain for the World Cup, which starts in Russia in 10 days’ time. Kane is the leader of this team in goals and there is an argument that he is its leader in achievement, too. He played a captain’s game last night, working unselfishly to create opportunities for others as well as scoring himself.
He came off 17 minutes from the end, replaced by Danny Welbeck, but if there may still be a couple of positions that provoke debate when considering the starting line- up for England’s opening game against Tunisia in Volgograd, Kane’s is not one of them. He is a certain starter.
HE was not everybody’s choice for captain, of course. It is rare that there is unanimity about questions like that which vex the English so much. Some thought that Jordan Henderson, the Liverpool skipper, deserved the armband for his relentless energy and his selfless promptings but Southgate’s opinion is the only one that matters.
However much you like Henderson, it is hard to argue actively against Kane. What’s not to like? He is a diligent professional, a man dedicated to his craft and to the idea of the team and a man whose name is probably the first on Southgate’s teamsheet. Like Henderson, he lives for the game. He is unlikely to be at the centre of any off-the-field controversy.
Nor is Kane afraid to fight his corner. When a tweet from the official FA account mocked his performance in the FA Cup semifinal defeat by Manchester United, the incident prompted a debate about a readiness to mock England players and the team, even ahead of major tournaments.
‘It’s strange,’ Kane said. ‘Maybe it’s a mentality thing. It is easier nowadays maybe to banter England players or take the mickey out of them. So if we don’t do well in the World Cup, then they can write and say, “We told you so”. But that is maybe a weaker mentality.
‘It is what it is. We are focusing on what we have to do. We have to go with the mindset and belief we can do it. We try to win everything we go into. The World Cup is no different.’
In many ways, the debate foreshadowed the discussion around the coverage of Raheem Sterling’s tattoo.
Kane’s stance on his own issue sent out a message that England would be unabashed about demanding more support from the nation and the media in the build-up to the tournament.
It was clear again against Nigeria how heavily dependent England are on Kane in attack. It was not just that he scored the winner. There is no one else who can act as the fulcrum of the attack like he can. England are blessed with pace in abundance but if Southgate was forced, for some reason, to do without Kane, it would be a crippling blow.
That was why there was so much concern in the spring when Kane injured ankle ligaments in a collision with Bournemouth goalkeeper Asmir Begovic at the Vitality Stadium. He was out for three weeks and, when he came back, there were fears that he had come back too soon.
For some, it triggered a host of worrying thoughts. Some remembered how Wayne Rooney was having the season of his life in 2009-10 before he was injured in a Champions League tie for Manchester United against Bayern Munich.
He came back too soon, too, and struggled to make any impression at the World Cup in South Africa that summer.
It is too early to say for sure but that does not appear to be Kane’s fate. He scored six goals in eight league games, including the disputed goal against Stoke, following his return from injury and his strike yesterday was more evidence that the enforced rest
may even work in his favour when the tournament begins and other legs tire.
Kane’s 30 league goals last season made him second only to Liverpool’s Mo Salah and he will go into the tournament in Russia as one of the most coveted forwards in the world game.
His performance against Nigeria proved again that he is so much more than a goalscorer.
Just as at Euro 2016, much will be expected of him in Russia but Kane has proved again and again and again since that defeat to Iceland that he can deal with the pressure that will be heaped on his shoulders.
Doubt him if you want but the evidence suggests Kane just keeps coming back stronger.