When Ollie Watkins dramatically scored a late match-winner in a 10-minute cameo against the Netherlands to take England through to the final, it quickly overshadowed his captain Harry Kane’s penalty in a near-subdued showing in the previous 80 minutes.
Kane has had a strange Euros so far. He is the joint-top-scorer in the tournament with three goals – two coming in the knockouts. In fact, he is now the leading European scorer in knockout matches in European Championship and World Cup history with nine goals in 14 matches.
He came into the Euros on the back of a staggering 44-goal haul in 45 games – his best scoring campaign in 14 top-flight seasons – in his debut outing at Bayern Munich. Wayne Rooney called him England’s greatest-ever player before the Euros and he is still only 30 at the peak of his powers.
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Yet, there have been constant murmurs in the latter stages of the tournament about the possibility of benching England’s record goal-scorer. Scotland great Graeme Souness felt Gareth Southgate faces the biggest call of his life, advocating the England manager to drop Kane for the final.
To the naked eye, Kane has often looked peripheral in the ongoing championships. In England’s previous tournament outings, Kane tended to drop deeper, showcasing his abilities to double up as a playmaker to go with his goal-scoring prowess.
| For England | Touches (per 90) | Touches (Opposition penalty box) |
| Euro 2016 | 43.7 | 3.4 |
| World Cup 2018 | 34.9 | 3 |
| Euro 2020 | 35.9 | 3.7 |
| World Cup 2022 | 35 | 3.1 |
| Euro 2024 | 23 | 4 |
Source: Opta
In the 2024 edition, he averages 23 touches per game, nearly 12 fewer compared to the 2022 World Cup and the 2021 Euros. But his touches in the opposition penalty box and shots per game have gone up to 4 and 2.83 – the highest of any major competitions he has been involved in since the 2016 Euros.
The numbers suggest Kane has remodelled his game into a classic number nine mould; the genesis of it comes from the meeting with Thomas Tuchel last summer ahead of his move to Bayern Munich. Kane revealed that Tuchel wanted him to change his style to what he was doing at Tottenham Hotspur and England. “I should play as a clearer No. 9 than I often do at Tottenham. My role there was a bit different, I dropped deep more often,” he told Bild. “I can adapt to that.”
Twelve months on, Kane can confidently say he has adjusted quite well with his 44-goal tally, which won him his maiden European Golden Shoe. In his maiden Bundesliga campaign, Kane averaged 34.7 touches overall – his lowest in the last four seasons – and 6.2 touches inside the opposition penalty box – his highest in the last four seasons.
| Club football | Touches (Overall) | Touches (Opposition penalty box) |
| 2023-24 (Bayern) | 34.7 | 6.2 |
| 2022-23 (Tottenham) | 38.81 | 4.86 |
| 2021-22 (Tottenham) | 41 | 5.02 |
| 2020-21 (Tottenham) | 44.6 | 5 |
At both Bayern and England, Kane is surrounded by an array of attacking midfielders, who operate in central areas, which doesn’t necessitate the frontman to keep dropping into deeper areas.
But, in the quarterfinal against Switzerland, when England switched to a 3-4-2-1 formation, Kane’s average position was alongside central midfielders Kobbie Mainoo and Declan Rice to aid England to combat Switzerland’s strength in the middle. He doesn’t just provide a passing option but an additional body to apply pressure on the ball. But he had just four touches in the Swiss box, the lowest for any player in either starting XI.
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His manager jumped to his defence ahead of the semifinal last week, saying, ‘I thought he [Kane] did a super job for the team [against Switzerland]. He is perhaps not flowing, as he is arriving in those deeper areas, but he is still playing an immense part for the group.”
But the change in role for both club and country doesn’t translate into a similar volume in goals for the striker due to the varying playing systems adopted. Bayern is undoubtedly the strongest team in the Bundesliga, which scores goals for fun. On the other hand, England’s tournament approach is geared to reap maximum rewards with a safety-first style.
England’s average number of passes into the box per game is 8.51 (8th best out of 24 teams), while Bayern’s was 13.5 per game (highest among 18 teams) The xA (expected assists: likelihood of passes leading to goals) per game for England in the Euros is 0.76 (16th best), while Bayern’s xA was more than double at 2.14 (highest in the league).
Southgate’s philosophy in tournaments has been about playing it safe and providing a solid defensive base, which can then allow its creative players to thrive on fast breaks.
England has a near-complete striker in Kane, however, the only glaring issue which one could point towards is his lack of pace. He isn’t the ideal off-the-shoulder forward, who can make quick runs to get on the end of through balls. A spate of injuries to his ankles has shaved the pace from his play.
Kane scored a career-best 44 goals in the season after his move to Bayern Munich. | Photo Credit: REUTERS
In the Euros three years ago, Kane attempted 1.11 dribbles per game with a success rate of 57 per cent, while in this edition, it has come down to 0.67 with a 25% success rate. While Kane’s game was never really about blistering pace or dribbling past players, it seems there has been a further drop-off from two years ago.
Kane, though, will not restrict himself to one role as he stated during the tournament. In the final against Spain, Kane’s ability to unlock the defence with his passing could once again prove pivotal in releasing players behind Spain’s high defensive line.
Despite all the criticisms, Southgate and his England teammates know he is quietly playing his part for the side. In a contest where chances will be at a premium and the stakes at their highest, they would know there is no striker in the world better than Kane to get on the end of to get them over the line.
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