What to make of Harry Kane’s first two matches at Euro 2020
By Gary Pearson
Harry Kane not the only England player who is struggling
While Kane’s underwhelming performances have taken the lion’s share of media scrutiny, England’s midfield has, as a collective, also severely underperformed. Leeds’ Kalvin Phillips is the only player performing up to a suitable level.
Raheem Sterling, who scored in the opener, was poor against Scotland, while Phil Foden wasn’t able to carry the bulk of the load either. Though, as one of England’s primary creative players in the middle of the park, Foden never should have been withdrawn against Scotland.
But without service, how is Kane expected to excel?
He tried at times to drop deep and insert himself into proceedings. But Kane shouldn’t be required to drop as deep for England as he does for Spurs. And therein lies half the problem. Kane is expected to stay high in the Three Lions setup, which is making things too easy for opposing centre backs, especially with no service forthcoming.
Kane’s movement hasn’t looked sharp, with Roy Keane and Graeme Souness heavily criticizing Spurs’ star man.
Keane has long been a critic of Harry’s, with the Irishman taking a shot at Spurs’ talisman whenever the opportunity arises. Based on Kane’s recent prolific history with both club and country, some of the criticism is both overly visceral and too harsh. But England goes as far as Kane does, precisely the reason he is open to such widespread backlash after just two subpar performances.
The chemistry between Spurs’ front three is currently frayed, exasperating the obvious issues Kane is dealing with. And while the limelight is forever on Kane, who is expected to perform at the top level in every match, his issues are more a microcosm of England’s current failures than solely his burden to bear.