Before the European Championship began in France, many pundits saw Harry Kane as one the front runners for the Golder Boot award, however after one week of action the Tottenham striker has looked out of sorts and is on the verge of being dropped in favour for England’s match winner against Wales Daniel Sturridge. Unfortunately for England, Kane has looked more likely to blast a free kick to row Z or hit the first man with a corner than scoring. Although he has been trying his best to get on the scoresheet, the English forward has not looked anywhere near the danger man that he was for Tottenham all year long in the Premier League.
Reports are emerging from France that the 22 year old striker is showing signs of fatigue after a grueling last season with Tottenham and is all set to be dropped by Roy Hodgson in England’s next match against Slovakia. Kane, who scored 25 Premier League goals for Spurs last term, arrived for the Euros as the team’s first-choice forward but, after five goals in 14 caps, is showing the strain after two seasons of constant game time with his club as well as the country. His involvement in Lens was his 118th first-team appearance since August 2014. Hodgson is expected to rest the striker along with Raheem Sterling who has struggled for any sort of form this summer, for the final group game.
Some people criticized the England manager using his striker on corners and long free kicks rather than putting him in the best position to succeed. Given his domestic exploits over the last season, Kane has proven that he can be the danger man for any team. However Kane failed to touch the ball in the Russia penalty area and was often out of the danger zone at crucial moments during the 1-1 draw after being handed set piece responsibilities.
Kane has positioned as a lone striker within Roy Hodgson’s system, with Adam Lallana and the disappointing, Sterling providing support from the wings. The formation has proven to be ill-suited to Kane’s game, who has struggled to have any affect on the game against a physical and deep positioned defence. At this point, it seems that Jamie Vardy or even Daniel Sturridge would be a better fit at that forward role for the Three Lions. Both Vardy and Sturridge came on as second half substitutes against Wales and changed the game completely overturning a 1-0 deficit with their linkup play. Vardy scored the opener by getting himself in the right position at the right time and Sturridge scored the winner after receiving the ball from Dele Alli after a lovely bit of play between him, Vardy and the Tottenham Youngster.
With qualification to the second round nearly assured, Hodgson has the room to tinker and experiment with his lineup. However unfortunately for Spurs fans the inclusion of Vardy and Sturridge will have to be at the expense of Harry Kane but he can always be called upon from the bench to play the role of a super sub.
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