Gary Lineker has reiterated his critique of Harry Kane following England’s lacklustre 1-1 game against Denmark at the Euros.
Despite a promising start for Three Lions – with a goal by Kane in the 18th minute – they seemed to stop playing soon after. A laid-back attitude backfired swiftly, leading to Morten Hjulmand seizing on a lax pass deep within England’s territory and scoring from well outside the box 34 minutes into the game.
Kane was subbed for Ollie Watkins in the 70th minute following a subpar performance, and Lineker lost no time in criticising England’s captain after his uninspiring game – voicing his disappointment on his The Rest Is Football podcast on Friday. While conversing with co-host Micah Richards, he asked: “Why do England not play the high press?
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“They might play it for about three minutes in a game. Are they not coached to play that? You feel a little bit guilty for Harry Kane. Can you do it with Harry Kane that way? I think you can.” He added: “You’ve got to say to your striker Harry – however good he is – ‘You’ve got to buy into this Harry, you don’t need to do too much but it needs to come from your forward player’. There are pros and cons to Harry and the fact is, he’s an unbelievable finisher,” reports the Mirror.
“And if you were 1-1 in the semi-final of the Euros and you had a man going through one on one on goal, you’d want it to be Harry Kane all day long. He’s brilliant, I love him and I always have. It makes you feel a little bit guilty to be critical about him, but I watched him today and I don’t think I saw a sprint and I don’t know why.”
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When asked by Richards how he can simplify his game, Lineker added: “Stay high. Stay really high and then every now and again you give yourself a target, and then you lean into a defender one way and then you come back and make it short. He’s never been much of a player that spins and gets behind players, but if you stay high the whole team can get higher.
“But also I feel for Harry because I think the tactical issues are a problem and it makes it a problem for him. I think when the time is so distant and plays so deep, Harry feels the need to have a connection with the whole team so he wanders back – and I understand why he does that and I wouldn’t be critical of him.”
(Image: PA)
It comes after Lineker urged that Gareth Southgate demands more from his captain on the BBC’s live coverage, citing how Kane must do better if the nation want to progress at the current tournament. Speaking after Thursday’s game, the pundit said: “In all honesty, I think Harry Kane needs to do a lot better.
“I think his movement was minimal, he didn’t look to go behind and he doesn’t often, but even when he comes short, he’s just drifting short very lethargically, he’s plodding short and that’s not going to help. When you’re a striker, your two jobs are obviously score goals, which he’s brilliant at and has been all his career and he’s wonderful at that sort of thing.
“But I think he needs his manager to say ‘Right, I need a little bit more from you, Harry’. I would have expected that if I had had that kind of performance. As a striker, he’s up against three at the back so he has got to stretch that team. Even when he comes short, you’ve got to go that way first, to keep them up there, and then you come short so that when you’ve got the ball coming short, you don’t have to go 20 yards to go short.
(Image: Getty Images)
“And he just ambles in and they (defenders) just let him go so he’s not creating space for himself for starters.” Lineker also hinted that boss Gareth Southgate might be part of the problem, noting: “The times in the Southgate reign that I’ve been impressed with England the most have been when they’ve played the high press. When he’s done it, it’s only lasted for 20 minutes, 30 minutes – maybe a half.”
“But it’s never happened and I don’t understand why. I can’t get why England play so deep, and they were stretched. And Harry just ambles back and I think you’ve got to say to Harry ‘good as you are, you’ve got to be the first man of the press’. But if he’s not telling him that, then you can’t blame Harry Kane.”
He later added: “They’re just a little bit lost tactically, and that comes from the manager I’m afraid. It really does. He has got to get England playing higher up the pitch as a unit – because at the moment they are not a unit.”
(Image: BBC)
When questioned whether Southgate’s defensive career influences his cautious approach, Lineker suggested: “I think probably, I think even if it’s subconsciously. I think he airs on the side of caution, I think I’ve heard him say many times that great expansive teams win football matches with great games – teams that win tournaments are pragmatic. I’m not sure that’s the case anymore.”
“It’s moved on, the really good teams now press as a team – Germany, Spain. Can England do that with Harry Kane? I think you tell Harry Kane that you’ve got to do that.” The Three Lions are gearing up for a crucial clash against Slovenia in their last Group C match on Tuesday.
Sitting at the top of their group with four points, England’s position could still be jeopardised by goal difference if the last round of group stage matches don’t go their way.