CHENNAI: As one end of the Atlanta Stadium celebrated Argentina’s win long into the night on Wednesday, the other end saw the English players led by Harry Kane wear a long face, trying to console their mates leaving for the exit. It marked yet another stumble in England’s pursuit of a World Cup glory after sixty long years.
For Kane, the ghosts of 2018 in Russia would haunt him, as he failed at a semi-final stage again. From being denied twice by Croatian goalkeeper Danijel Subasic to seeing his team lose the match from being a goal up then, Kane’s second semi-final followed a similar storyline. But Kane’s impact? Little to zero, literally when it mattered. The Bayern Munich forward did not register a single touch in the opposition box. This was the third time he had returned to the number, doing so once against Russia at the 2016 Euros and again in the 2021 Euro final against Italy.
While he has his name on top of all England goalscorers' list (all-time and in FIFA World Cups), performing in high-pressure matches against stronger oppositions, is a box yet to be ticked by Kane. By the time the next World Cup begins, Kane will turn 36, and the likelihood of questions over his fitness would rise. “It's too early to talk about that," Kane told reporters after the match. "I'm taking it year by year,” he added.
However, former England striker and Zee5 expert for the World Cup Robbie Fowler believes that it is a missed chance for Kane to take his nation to the summit clash, while acknowledging his good performances so far. “I don't think he had the greatest game yesterday and at times he probably looked as though he did lose half a pace. I thought he looked very leggy,” he said in a virtual interaction facilitated by the broadcaster on Thursday.
Fowler, who was a force to be reckoned with in the mid-to-late 1990s for Liverpool and England, felt that Kane should play more upfront rather than drop deep.
“I don't think that people will think differently whether he's a bad player because obviously he's a world-class player. But he just didn't show up last night. People questioned the simple fact that he dropped deep quite a lot of the time. We've been saying the same thing after the last European Championships (in 2024). But I think this time the fact that he scored six goals maybe sort of overridden that,” he added.
"If he wants to cement an excellent legacy and even score more goals, he has to stay upfront. You look at all the great teams who have a focal striker and probably England lacked that last night.”
While coach Thomas Tuchel may keep Kane at the forefront, the legendary striker has his doubts on whether he sees the skipper in another major tournament. “I think we're probably seeing, not the end of Harry Kane, but we see where his game has slowed down, where he keeps dropping deep. I've been a player and one of the reasons why you do drop deep is because you haven't got the legs to run in behind. So you're talking about two years, European Championships, four years for the World Cup. I think if we're being honest, I think it would be difficult to see him in a major tournament again," he opined.
But does Fowler see someone taking Kane’s spot? “At the minute, no,” he responded. “There's obviously forwards out there but there's really no one set in the world in terms of scoring goals or performances that are going to give the manager a headache. So that's one of the good things from a Harry Kane point of view. If he does continue to play in major tournaments, there's maybe no one sort of pushing him or trying to push him out of a squad or a team,” he signed off.
