Michael Owen has delivered tactical advice to Harry Kane and England manager Thomas Tuchel, with the former Three Lions striker telling GOAL why the “best finisher in the world” needs to heed advice when it comes to doing his “job”.
As the ultimate team player Kane is happy to drop wide and deep, but that takes him away from areas where he can cause the most damage.
Record breaker: Kane posting astonishing numbers
Kane has still been inflicting plenty of pain on domestic and international rivals, with remarkable individual standards being maintained with club and country. Tottenham’s all-time leading scorer has taken his historic tally of goals for England to 78 and has been smashing records while plundering 124 efforts for Bayern Munich through 130 appearances.
He has broken his trophy duck, becoming a Bundesliga title winner, and has two Golden Boots in Germany to his name. Bayern will be looking to him for inspiration in an ongoing domestic title defence and a bid for Champions League honours.
Kane reminded of the need to do his ‘job’
When the World Cup finals roll around this summer, Kane will spearhead England’s charge for a global crown as captain of the Three Lions. He will be required to deliver end product on the grandest of stages, with timely reminders being offered of the need to continue playing to his strengths.
Ex-Bayern boss Felix Magath told Sport recently: “I would always use players according to their strengths. Harry Kane can score goals. He’s praised by everyone and everyone cheers that he also runs around at the back. But that’s not his job. If he were to run around up front instead of in midfield or at the back, that would be better for the team.”
Owen advice: How England get the best out of captain Kane
It is not the first time that Kane has faced questions of his willingness to vacate the front line, with it possible that his numbers could be even better. Owen hopes that England can find a way of bringing the best out of their skipper.
The former Three Lions frontman — speaking in association with casino.org, where he is now the UK ambassador for the online casino comparison site — told GOAL when asked if Kane roaming around the field is an issue: “A lot depends on who he is playing alongside. When he was at Spurs it worked really well because [Heung-min] Son had loads of pace and they would interchange – one would drop in and one would go. It was hard for defenders to mark them.
“A lot depends on who is playing in the team. He can drop in and can spray the ball around but, for me, I would want Harry Kane — especially the age he is now — to save a lot of his energy to score goals, to stay in and around the box.
“The problem with being a centre-forward is that you are so reliant on your team-mates to get the ball to you. If it’s a tough game and you are hardly getting the ball, the natural inclination is to get involved, to drop deep. As much as that gives you a bit of confidence and feel like you are getting involved in the game, sometimes you need that target to hit.
“Personally, I think he is arguably the best finisher in the world. I don’t really want him wasting too many touches playing deep. Of course linking the play is something that he needs to do, to be a building block for the team, but I wouldn’t want him coming too deep.
“I also get it because the older you get, you might start losing half a yard of pace and you can feel as though you have had a good game even if you don’t score by playing a few balls and assisting a few things. I have been there.
“In general, he is our biggest hope. Who can’t get injured before the tournament, who do we need most? It has to be him, still. Who have we got in our league? Harry Kane scores goals like nobody else. We really need him in flying form and saving all of his energy to score goals.”
England fixtures: Countdown to 2026 World Cup
Kane will be hoping to add to his international goal haul, while moving ever closer to Peter Shilton’s record tally of 125 caps, when England face Uruguay and Japan in friendly dates at the end of March.
They will be the last fixtures that Tuchel gets in which to experiment before World Cup plans have to be drawn up, with the Three Lions – who have two pre-tournament games to take in after heading to the United States – set to get their bid for global glory underway against Croatia on June 17.
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