KANE’S OUR SPECIAL ONE
IT was, Gareth Southgate said, the way Harry Kane reset himself; the way he shut out the dastardly attempts of the Colombians to distract him, even resorting to dragging their studs across the penalty spot.
Kane remained composed — calm for as long as it took for the referee to regain control of a tense, bad- tempered, last- 16 contest. And then Kane adopted that now familiar stance, feet apart, three steps behind and to the left of the ball — a ‘routine’, as he called it last night, that has seen him successfully convert four penalties at this World Cup.
Southgate said it reminded him of Jonny Wilkinson, and for a man choosing his words very carefully, who is trying to manage expectations as much as the national football team, that was some statement.
He knew very well he was comparing Kane to the man whose right boot once won a World Cup for England, who received a pass from Matt Dawson with just 26 seconds of extra time remaining and sent a drop- kick sailing between Australia’s posts.
But as Southgate prepared for this afternoon’s quarter- final against Sweden, he sees someone special emerging here in Russia. A special leader as well as a match-winner.
‘I think he handles his role with real maturity and has recognised the importance of being a voice for the team away from the pitch as well,’ said Southgate.
‘It was his calmness on the pitch the other night, the way he led by example. His body language, the way he carried himself. He has an exceptional mentality, real belief in being a top player. Against Colombia I think it was threeand-a-half minutes from the penalty being given to when they eventually left him alone, using various tactics, yet I knew he was fine when he picked the ball up for about the fourth time.
‘He reset himself again. Much like you see Jonny Wilkinson. He’s of that sort of mentality and calibre, I think. To go through that, all of those things are sending brilliant messages to the rest of the group.’
Those messages continued here inside the Samara Arena last night, Kane delivering a speech that would have stirred supporters as much as his team-mates.
‘When you go through a battle like that and come through as winners, it gives you so much energy and so much belief to go and do it again,’ said the captain.
‘The feeling after is amazing. So we’re hungry for more. We want that feeling again. If it goes to extra time and penalties, we’ll be ready for that. If we can win in 90 minutes, then great, but we’re ready to do whatever it takes.’
Kane insisted his focus was on the team but he cannot escape questions about the race for the Golden Boot. A journalist pointed out that only one player has scored more than six goals at a World Cup since 1974: Ronaldo, with eight for Brazil, in 2002.
‘I didn’t know that,’ said Kane, who sits on six with as many as three games left to play. ‘Hopefully I carry on scoring. That would be amazing. But the focus is on helping the team.’
In the build-up Sweden have cast themselves as underdogs — players from relatively unglamorous teams versus a collection of highly paid Premier League superstars. One article suggested Kane was worth more than the entire Sweden team put together.
This was put to Kane last night. ‘It’s shown over this tournament and over the years that that means nothing,’ he said. ‘All that matters is that you work hard, have belief as a team and stick together. They’re the most important things.
‘People will say we have better individuals who play for bigger clubs, but it’s about how you play as a team. We’ve done that really well so far.’
Kane was certainly on form. He spoke movingly about a young boy with cancer he had engaged with on Twitter. And he responded respectfully to the suggestion that, with the departure of Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo and the success he and Kylian Mbappe have enjoyed, there had been a shift in the world order in Russia.
‘You can never write off Ronaldo or Messi,’ he said. ‘For me and the other young players, they’re still inspirational. They set a bar we have to try to reach.’
He has not scored a World Cup winning goal just yet but Kane is certainly getting closer.