Harry Kane has played in four semi-finals and two finals for England, and his record across those six matches amounts to two goals — a penalty against the Netherlands in the Euro 2024 semi-final, and a rebound after Denmark’s Kasper Schmeichel saved his spot kick in the semi-final three years earlier.
It is not damning or anything of the sort, but it is a disappointing record for a player of such great quality.
The problem isn’t Kane. The problem is that in so many of those games, England have shown little interest in using their main attacking threat.
In the Euro 2020 final against Italy, he barely got a sniff, such was England’s lack of adventure after taking an early lead. In 2024, against the Netherlands and in the final against Spain, he struggled for fitness and was substituted.
Against Argentina, England demonstrated little attacking intent before taking the lead 10 minutes into the second half — and then showed less and less and less until they got what Tuchel’s fearful tactics deserved.
Kane is a top-class player. But he is not, like Lionel Messi, a football genius. He does not, like Erling Haaland or peak Cristiano Ronaldo, have the power and athleticism that calls to mind some kind of lab creation. He does not have the speed of Kylian Mbappe.
He is a multifunctional centre-forward, but watching him crowded out by Cristian Romero and Lisandro Martinez on the rare occasions the ball came his way against Argentina served as a reminder that he is reliant on service and support from the players around him.
In the past two tournaments, in which Kane has helped England reach a final and now a semi-final, there has been disappointingly little of that.
