The debate over England’s best front three will rage on social media and in pubs and living rooms up and down the country until Gareth Southgate names his XI for Sunday’s last-16 clash against Senegal.
While many supporters are still undecided, some viewpoints are already entrenched; Marcus Rashford cannot be dropped after his two goals against Wales; Phil Foden is a generational talent; Raheem Sterling delivers for England in big games; Bukayo Saka is one of the form players of this season.
Southgate, who also has big calls to make at right-back and in midfield, is yet to make up his own mind, and will base his decision on his assessment of the African champions, this week’s training and, crucially, which of his other forwards best complement Harry Kane.
Southgate was able to give his captain a much-needed rest for the final half-hour against Wales on Tuesday and Kane should be raring to go against Senegal, desperate for his first goal of the tournament and fully recovered from a sore foot which might have restricted him against the USA.
The case for Sterling to be restored to the side is especially compelling, given his history in England knockout games and established partnership with Kane.
Sterling’s well-taken volley against Iran was the 16th time he has directly combined with Kane for an England goal and, somewhat remarkably, he is statistically the most effective partner of the Tottenham striker’s career.
Kane and Sterling have combined in an England shirt every 257 minutes, a better ratio than Kane’s partnership with Heung-min Son — the most lethal in Premier League history — which has led to a goal every 324 minutes for Spurs.
In spite of this, there is a case that Rashford is a more natural player to complement Kane’s unique qualities than Sterling.
While the Chelsea forward does his best work in front of the opposition, running at defenders and committing them, Rashford excels at getting behind defences.
The 25-year-old’s best displays for Manchester United this season came in the wins over Arsenal and Liverpool, in stretched games where he has able to break beyond a high line and finish.
There is arguably no one better in the world at playmaking from deep than Kane, and there was a glimpse of his link-up with Rashford against Wales, when the United man ran on to Kane’s defence-splitting pass, only for Danny Ward to rush out and save.
More than Sterling, Saka or Foden, Rashford can replicate Kane’s link-up with Son, offering the England skipper both an outlet and a provider. There are less obvious cases to make for Saka or Foden when it comes to combining with Kane, although the latter finished Kane’s pinpoint cross against Wales.
More generally, Foden’s ability to unpick a lock and Saka’s defensive contribution could be significant against a well-organised Senegal side, who carry a particular threat in wide areas.
It is a good headache for Southgate to have, and there is a certain irony that few are seriously making the cases for Jack Grealish, the darling of England fans during Euro 2020, or pre-World Cup favourite James Maddison.
Kane came into the tournament needing just three goals to surpass Wayne Rooney as England’s all-time leading goalscorer and few would have bet the farm on him not breaking the record by the end of the group stage.
Instead, he is yet to score in Qatar but leads the way for assists in the tournament, with three, and his contribution is a good measure of how far Southgate’s side have come.
Four years ago in Russia, England were also high scorers in the group with eight goals, with Kane scoring five against Tunisia and Panama to effectively sew up the Golden Boot before the knockouts.
England’s only goal that was not either scored by the captain or a John Stones header from a set-piece was Jesse Lingard’s strike against a hapless Panama.
This time around, none of England’s nine goals in the group were scored by Kane (although two were from set-pieces, Saka’s finish from Harry Maguire’s knockdown against Iran and Rashford’s free-kick on Tuesday) and they have six different scorers, including Grealish and Jude Bellingham.
To any sensible viewers, Kane’s value to England remains undiminished, however, and his performances in the group make a mockery of the tired debate over whether he spends too much time dropping deep.
Kane has always been capable of scoring and creating — he got the most goals and assists in the Premier League in 2020-21, for example — and his roles as creator and finisher have never been mutually exclusive.
Southgate knows this and has been successfully working to make England less reliant on him for goals, making his choice of partners for the captain in the knockouts so significant.
