After 269 minutes without a shot on target at the 2022 World Cup, Harry Kane needed only 12 minutes to open his account in this year’s tournament. The England captain scored twice in Wednesday’s 4-2 win over Croatia, a performance that former captain Alan Shearer said “could not be more different” from his sluggish start in Qatar. Shearer recalled that Kane “looked tired early” in 2022 and was not fully fit at Euro 2024 either, but now, under Thomas Tuchel, England are using him “a lot like Bayern Munich do”. Tuchel managed Kane at Bayern and knows how to get the best out of him.
Yet the emphatic victory over Croatia masked troubling signs from England’s pre-tournament preparations. In late March, England failed to beat either Uruguay or Japan in friendlies, with football that was “stodgily unimaginative” and many players unavailable through injury. The performances evoked “the bad old days before Gareth Southgate”, while warm-up wins in Florida – 1-0 against New Zealand and 3-0 against Costa Rica, who did not qualify for the World Cup – did little to dispel the unease.
“Harry Kane scores twice in 4-2 win over Croatia after 269-minute goal drought in 2022, but pre-tournament friendlies raise concerns.”
Kane’s form offers a counterweight. Against Croatia, he had seven shots – more than his total of five across four games at the 2022 tournament – and his double means he is off the mark early, just as he was in 2018 when he scored five goals in England’s first two games. “His eyes must be lighting up,” Shearer said, with Ghana and Panama next in Group L. Bookmakers rank England third favourites for the trophy, and Tuchel’s distance as a German Anglophile – he “clearly loves London” – appears to give him clarity; his controversial squad selection prioritised “balance and having players fulfill specific roles” over reputation.
But the question remains whether an excellent coach and match-winning individuals can overcome the structural frailties exposed in March. As one analyst put it, “failure begets failure”, and England’s 60-year wait for a major trophy continues to weigh on a side that has often stumbled before the final hurdle.