As England prepare to take on Lithuania at Wembley in this evening’s Euro 2016 Group E qualifier, there’s only one question the public want answering; will there be a starring role for Tottenham’s prodigious striker Harry Kane?
In just a matter of months, the 21 year-old has moved from the fringes of the Spurs squad to the peripheries of greatness, a hat-trick against Leicester City last weekend seeing him rise to the top of the Premier League’s scoring charts with 19 goals, alongside Chelsea’s Diego Costa and Manchester City’s Sergio Aguero. Les Ferdinand has even described him as a mix between Teddy Sherringham and Alan Shearer – high praise indeed.
More than just his goals and recent form, there’s something uniquely captivating about the young forward. His relentless enthusiasm for the beautiful game, and particularly Tottenham, constantly shines out, especially amid a Premier League era dominated by foreign stars and billionaire owners. He’s a throwback to simpler times; of local lads coming good for their hometown clubs; of Roy of the Rovers – or Kane of the Lane – fairytales; before supranational corporate sponsors began pouring unprecedented fortunes into all sectors of top flight football.
The chant “he’s one of our own” is by no means exclusive to Tottenham fans. Along with the Lilywhites fan base, the majority of England supporters will want to see the country’s latest potential hero in action tonight. It feels only fair, considering the orgasmic goalscoring pleasure he’s brought us all this season.
International minnows like Lithuania, however, throw up a rather bemusing proposition. In theory, facing a 94th-placed FIFA-ranked team in front of a supportive Wembley crowd should be the perfect opportunity for Kane to get his first taste of competitive senior international football, but in practice, such matches never quite pan out as expected – especially for a fatally flawed, over-pressurised England side.
Whilst Kane’s found superfluous form in the Premier League, a division defined by it’s up-down pace, chaotic defending and sweeping counter-attacks, the Lithuania fixture will offer none of the aforementioned. More simply, all eleven men behind the ball, camping in their own defensive third, trying to keep the score at nil-nil for as long as possible, knowing that the Wembley crowd will eventually get restless. Does Kane, although clearly a prominent young talent, possess the temperament and composure not become overawed by the unnecessarily apprehensive circumstances England will likely face tonight?
It may seem like a rather boring alternative, but in a qualifier that could see England move nine points clear of the competition in Group E, it’s likely Roy Hodgson will reserve the striking role for his captain Wayne Rooney. The Manchester United star has, after all, claimed 46 international goals almost exclusively against this calibre of opposition, and will enter tonight firmly in the knowledge he’s only three strikes shy of Bobby Charlton’s all-time top scorer record – a huge source of personal motivation.
Of course, it largely depends on how Hodgson sets up his side this evening. If he opts for the midfield diamond that secured a 2-0 win over Switzerland in September and gave England a refreshed sense of their industrious identity, then Kane should be starting. After all, he’s almost matched the Premier League career haul of the only other striker in the England squad, Danny Welbeck (with 24 goals) in the space of a single campaign, and unlike the bit-part Arsenal star is amid a run of 20 consecutive Premier League starts. On the back of a hat-trick at the Lane last Saturday, he’s fresh, sharp and at the top of his game.
Yet, fearing an ever-conservative Roy Hodgson, a cameo role seems the likeliest scenario for Kane this evening. That may not be the most popular choice but probably a sensible one, not only sparing the debutant from a potentially tepid opening atmosphere, but furthermore resting him for a starting berth in the friendly against Italy next week. Hurrikane will get a few minutes – but probably not enough for his forceful breeze to start uprooting Wembley trees.