To be clear, we are not approaching another Jimmy Greaves moment. The England, Tottenham and Chelsea legend was, according to those who watched him, the greatest English finisher ever, but schoolchildren are handed down the take of how he sat on the bench at the 1966 World Cup Final as Geoff Hurst became a hat-trick hero, global legend and later a Knight of the Realm.
Greaves's misfortune was to sustain a cut on the knee, miss the quarter-final against Argentina in which Hurst scored and have a manager, then plain old Alf Ramsey himself, unwilling to change a winning team.
However exceptional Ollie Watkins' last-minute finish against Netherlands was on Wednesday night in Dortmund, Harry Kane starts on Sunday. Equally, do not be surprised if he ends up with the Golden Boot and is named in the team of the tournament. He is joint-top scorer with three goals.
Kane starts because coaches love his talismanic presence. Even if a back injury is curtailing his movement, there is no one better to finish in the penalty area — and Spain know that.
Coaches also love even the restricted movement he currently provides. Wednesday's first half against Netherlands was full of clever moments, dropping into a fluid midfield. What has been lacking is as many of those decisive runs into the six-yard box to meet crosses, though goals against Denmark and Slovakia were still classics of the Kane genre.
There is no doubt this is not peak Kane, who became the first Englishman to win the Bundesliga Torjagerkanone this season, with 36 goals in 34 games, something neither Kevin Keegan nor Jude Bellingham managed. Back in the autumn, when he scored back-to-back hat-tricks against Borussia Dortmund and Darmstadt, he looked like a Bundesliga cheat code.
Except it did not turn out that way, Bayer Leverkusen winning the Bundesliga and DFB-Pokal double. Kane was on the bench when Thomas Tuchel rested him for Bayern's humiliating second-round Cup exit at Saarbrucken in November. He was on the bench again, having been substituted, bowing his head in bitter disappointment, when the final whistle went on Real Madrid's 2-1 win in the Champions League semi. When Kane had been taken off on 85 minutes, Bayern were still 1-0 up and set for the final.
Only the exceptionally cruel could take any pleasure in the fact that such a brilliant player has still won nothing
Only the exceptionally cruel — and Arsenal fans — could take any pleasure in the astonishing fact that such a brilliant player, the best centre-forward of his generation, has still won nothing in the game at the age of 30. His record in finals will need a rapid improvement if that is to change. There is nothing of note about the four he has played: the 2015 and 2021 Carabao Cup finals; the 2019 Champions League final; and the 2021 Euro final. Zero goals, zero assists, zero wins. In mitigation, he was rushed back from injury in 2019 and excelled in the opening exchanges in 2021. Yet, his talent demands its own iconic moment.
That semi-final defeat against Madrid in May was the first sign that all was not well. Taking off your best player with five minutes to play seemed obtuse until Thomas Tuchel revealed he was struggling with a back problem, which also caused him to miss the last two Bundesliga games. "Just a precaution," Kane insisted. And yet, at that stage, though unlikely, Robert Lewandowski's 41-goal Bundesliga record was just about in sight, with Kane on 36 and German media still speculating it could be done. He would never happily have surrendered the opportunity, however slim, of back-to-back hat-tricks to surpass that mark.
"I wouldn't be surprised if, after the tournament, we discover that he's been playing with injections," said TV pundit Gary Neville this week. "[But] Gareth is never going to leave him out. I'm not sure I would, either. It would take a very brave coach to do so. Maybe Gareth has got to a place where he's happy to substitute Harry now and bring someone on to change it up."
That is where we are with Kane. Right now, he is not the cheat code striker, but he still scares opponents and commands team-mates' trust. Watkins and Ivan Toney are superb options, the former offering runs in behind and energy, the latter, superb link-up and hold-up play, as well as aerial and physical strength. England have stronger attacking options from the bench than anyone at Euro 2024, which could be decisive on Sunday. The match could be won from 70 minutes onwards — and changes could tip the balance in England's favour.
That said, the first game of the season I reported on was the German Super Cup Final, which was Kane's Bayern debut against RB Leipzig. He came on after 64 minutes, but the show was stolen by a Spaniard who, at that point, few talked about in England, but who scored a hat-trick, running Bayern ragged. That was Dani Olmo. Here's hoping Kane turns the tables on Olmo on Sunday.
