Amid euphoria of a Euro 2024 semi-final, England have one glaring issue – Harry Kane
England manager Gareth Southgate (left) speaks to England's Harry Kane (right) during the UEFA Euro 2024, quarter-final match at the Dusseldorf Arena, Germany. Picture date: Saturday July 6, 2024. PA Photo. See PA Story SOCCER England. Photo credit should read: Adam Davy/PA Wire. RESTRICTIONS: Use subject to FA restrictions. Editorial use only. Commercial use only with prior written consent of the FA. No editing except cropping.
His every stride slightly laboured, his every touch just a little clumsier than usual, Harry Kane played 109 minutes of this match as if weighed down by the gravity of Neptune. He did not even make it as far as the shoot-out triumph to which he should have been central, replaced by Ivan Toney as the decisive test beckoned. There was, in all honesty, a case for Gareth Southgate to have terminated his fruitless toil much sooner. In the end, Manuel Akanji had to shoulder-barge him off the pitch and into the dugout for the manager to take the hint.
Five penalty-takers, all of whom scored: this was the only detail that preoccupied England fans as they prepared to drink Dusseldorf dry. But once the euphoria settles, many will start asking what their strangely pedestrian captain is contributing to the cause. Despite his two goals in five games, Kane looks, both with and without the ball, like a half-paced version of his usual commanding tournament self. His pitiful return against Switzerland − zero goals, zero assists, zero dribbles completed, and all while losing possession 10 times − points to a conundrum that Southgate must urgently solve.
