England star Harry Kane just wants one chance to light up Euro 2016 with his first goal
One cross, one shot, one ball to drop for him against Iceland on Monday and the striker promises he will burst the back of the net
HARRY KANE just wants a chance.
One cross, one shot, one ball to drop for him against Iceland on Monday and the England striker promises he will burst the back of the net.
What a feeling that would be.
Off the mark in tournament football, releasing all that tension and England will be on their way. If only it was that simple.
In 150 minutes, two starts and one SOS call against Slovakia in the final group game, Kane has had just one shot on target.
The supply line — Rooney, Sterling, Lallana, Alli — needs some work.
Kane said: “There probably hasn’t been a clear chance where I would say, ‘I’m disappointed I missed that, I wished I’d scored that one’.
“But you just have to be ready for when that chance comes.”
The one and only chance came against Wales, when last season’s leading scorer in the Premier League was denied by Tottenham team-mate Ben Davies’ block.
If it makes Kane feel any better, some of the biggest names in European football have yet to get off the mark here.
The Bayern Munich trio — Robert Lewandowski, Thomas Muller and Mario Gotze — are all in the same boat.
It raises the question of fatigue, with the demands of playing at the highest level for Bayern affecting their form at the tail-end of the season.
Lewandowski (59 appearances), Muller (57) and Gotze (28), who was injured between October and March, have struggled to find their form.
So, too, has Kane after playing 119 games for club and country over the past two seasons. The poor fella probably does need a break. He got a rest in the last game, dropped after two false starts against Russia and Wales.
But Kane added: “I don’t think burnout is a worry.
“I think to progress in major tournaments and to be at your best you need a big squad and need to rotate it.
“Last season in the Premier League was a lot different, with defenders maybe getting tighter when I got the ball.
“But if you want to be one of the best in the world then you have to learn to cope with that. You learn from tournament football.”
Kane is learning the hard way, brutally substituted at half-time in England’s second group game against Wales.
They went on to win, with goals from his replacement Jamie Vardy and Daniel Sturridge in the final minute. After that, he was out.
The Spurs hitman, 22, added: “The gaffer made his choice in that game and we all stick by it. He chose to change a few players but that’s tournament football.
“I want to play every game but sometimes you just have to listen to the manager.
“When you have Vardy up front and Sturridge on the other side, there’s competition for places.
“We spoke about that before the tournament and that’s what you need. All I can do is my best for the team, whether’s that from the bench or if I start.
“You have to take it, move forward and take it in your stride.”
To Kane’s enormous credit, he is not a sulker. When he is asked to do something — such as the surprising decision to put him on set-pieces in the opening game — he applies himself.
This was Hodgson’s brainchild, spotting something in his delivery that he could not find in any other England player.
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It sounds odd and even Kane — diplomatic as he is — is not convinced.
He added: “It was something we tried when we first met up for the Turkey game.
“At the time we had a lot of tall players in the team and they saw the delivery I had and wanted me to put it in the box. We did it then and it stuck.
“I’ll listen to the manager. If he wants me to do something, I’ll do it.
“The manager wanted me to take them so I took them. I’ve taken a few for Spurs now and again when we’ve been chasing a game.
“I wouldn’t remember the last time I was the designated corner taker. It’s been blown out of proportion a bit.
“The manager didn’t want me to do it against Wales, so I didn’t.”
What Hodgson really needs out of him is a goal, a return to the ruthless streak that convinced England’s head coach to make him first choice.
It is in there but, judging by Thursday’s training session — when the strikers scored just nine times in 47 attempts — it will have to be bullied out of them.
Kane added: “Nine goals in 47 attempts in training doesn’t really affect the players.
“When you train with a goalkeeper day in, day out, they know what side you want to shoot.
“But with technology nowadays, opposition keepers will know which areas you like to shoot. It’s similar. You know what players like to do.”
With talk like that, he just needs another chance.
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