Wembley Stadium, 7 July 2021, a crisis brewing. Denmark are 1-0 up against England in a Euro 2020 semi‑final, Mikkel Damsgaard’s free-kick catching Jordan Pickford out, and the hosts are beginning to panic.
And so Harry Kane drops deep. All tournament long, people have questioned why he drops deep. Why isn’t England’s No 9 in the box? Why is he so far from goal? Is it ego that makes him think he’s a No 10? Well, here’s the answer. Receiving the ball midway inside Denmark’s half, Kane controls with his left foot and then, with no backlift, plays a defence‑splitting pass with his right. Away goes Bukayo Saka, streaking clear on the right, and when the winger’s low cross ends up being turned into the goal by Denmark’s Simon Kjær, England are back on the victory path.
Kane’s ingenuity is the turning point. He had been adjusting after his ankle injuries, running the channels less and operating more as a playmaker, while still retaining that enormous goal threat. He is neither a No 9 nor a No 10; instead he is a 9.5, a mix of Alan Shearer and Teddy Sheringham, the dip in the power of his running no impediment to him pulling away from centre-backs, turning and sending a wide forward away with a sweeping pass.
We saw it so often when he linked up with Son Heung-min at Tottenham. He moved to Bayern Munich last summer and finished his first season in Germany with 44 goals and eight assists in all competitions. And last Sunday, as England opened their Euro 2024 campaign with a 1-0 win against Serbia, he managed two touches in the first half, spent most of the game being buffeted by three big defenders and did not have an attempt on goal until late in the game.
It was an Erling Haaland-esque performance: low involvement in the buildup, plenty of frustration, a narrative defined by whether or not the big chance ends up in the back of the net.
Afterwards, though, Kane and Southgate were satisfied with how things had gone. Kane explained that it was part of the plan for him to play high and make space for Jude Bellingham and Phil Foden in between the lines. Southgate talked about the captain’s hold-up play relieving pressure in the second half. Jamie Carragher, writing in his Daily Telegraph column, said England will not win the European Championship if Kane is unable to resume his old playmaking role. Why is he playing so high? Why is he in the box all the time?
Yet, as Kane said, each game will be different. He was doubted at the start of Euro 2020 and the 2022 World Cup, only to respond with a flurry of goals on both occasions. Do not bet against him. There will be goals and assists. They could come when England face Denmark again in Frankfurt on Thursday evening.
An altered role does not have to spell disaster. Equally, though, it is clear that the nature of England’s attack has shifted since the early Southgate era. One of the team’s biggest wins, the 3-2 triumph against Spain in October 2018, was built on Kane dropping back and releasing Marcus Rashford and Raheem Sterling with clever through balls. England had pace and directness in the wide areas, with Sterling particularly influential on the left at the last European Championship. Against Serbia, though, the speed was limited to Saka on the right. Foden, a more technical player than Sterling, would spend his time drifting in from the opposite flank. Behind Kane, meanwhile, was a 20‑year‑old superstar who oozes main‑character energy.
Inevitably there will be questions about whether the irrepressible rise of Bellingham will steal Kane’s thunder. Who is England’s talisman now? Maybe it’s the wrong question to ask. Maybe, as Southgate says, England do not need a talisman. It will help Kane if some of the pressure is lifted from his shoulders.
The captain is, first and foremost, an incredible team player. Kane is obsessed with scoring but if he has to sacrifice himself for the team he will do it. He didn’t actually have a bad game against Serbia; he wasn’t losing balls in the first half, he just wasn’t getting anything to feet. Everything centred around Bellingham’s energy. Kane occupied defenders. There was space for Bellingham to make a late run into the box. In the second half Kane held the ball up, won free‑kicks and with his one chance hit the bar. The narrative would have been different had that gone in.
Even then, though, the comparison with Haaland would not quite be right. Haaland is rarely involved in City’s buildup play. The Norwegian’s game is almost entirely defined by whether he scores. Kane is different. He can do almost everything. He was perfectly capable of fighting Serbia’s bruisers in the air.
Perhaps it can be put to one side. After all, when England beat Italy last October, the move that led to their equalising penalty came from Kane dropping back, holding off his marker and laying the ball off for Bellingham to surge through on goal. Everything seemed to be in fine working order then and the lesson is that Kane is going to make his presence felt at some point. It might be a towering header at the back post, a fizzing shot or one of those trademark assists. One way or another, it’s coming.
