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Much was expected of the Three Lions against Team USA after they made little work of Iran in their opening round. Gareth Southgate’s men were disappointed in the goalless draw with Harry Kane failing to score again.
The England and Tottenham captain was hailed as a shoo-in for the Golden Boot at the 2022 FIFA World Cup. The prolific attacker has struggled at the showpiece event, allowing critics to take full swings at him.
Although Kane has gone goalless in Qatar, he did provide two assists in the 6-2 thrashing of Team Melli. However, he was sub-par against the Americans, failing to send a shot on target or create a chance.
The 29-year-old suffered a knock against Iran and came of the pitch. He was declared fit against the USMNT but was not one hundred per cent, which was evident from his performance.
Great strikers are ‘selfish’
Graeme Souness branded the attacker “selfish” for playing with an injury as his laboured presence impacted the Three Lions. The Liverpool legend pointed at Kane’s reluctance to come off the pitch against Iran in search of a goal and believes it can hurt their chances for the elusive prize.
“My view is that Harry Kane was selfish against Iran on Monday – staying on the field for 27 minutes after suffering an ankle injury, even though England were 3-0 up,” the Daily Mail quoted Souness.
“Gareth Southgate needed to protect Kane from himself there but failed to do so. Kane has historical issues with his ankles and the injury was serious enough for him to need a scan but he needlessly played on. I know from experience that the ankle can be complex.”
“Harry would have wanted to play on for 27 minutes because he saw goals in the game,” added Souness.
“He has that selfish streak that all great strikers possess. It looks like he got away with one there. Hopefully, there’s not an issue with his ankle in this tournament and it doesn’t come back to bite him… If England are to go far, they need Kane firing.”
Harry Kane's game by numbers vs. USA:
39 touches
3 touches in opp. box
2 tackles made
2 shots
1 clearance
0 shots on target
0 chances created#FIFAWorldCup pic.twitter.com/I6qZdUwCl1— Squawka (@Squawka) November 25, 2022
USMNT are organized and athletic
While Souness criticises Kane, head coach Southgate cannot be faulted for sticking with his captain. The striker entered the competition in red-hot form, hitting the back of the net 12 times in his 15 Premier League appearances.
The Tottenham youth academy graduate spurned a priceless opportunity against the USA and was gracious in his inability. He praised the USMNT for their work ethic and the problems they caused them on the pitch.
The draw means that the Three Lions will have to wait for the final group game to book their place. Barring a seismic defeat to Wales, they have a guaranteed spot in the knockout rounds.
Kane admitted that the stalemate against Team USA was not the ideal result but it keeps them on track to achieve their goals.
We know we can be better than we were tonight but a good clean sheet and we’re in a good position in the group. 🦁🦁🦁 pic.twitter.com/18Sh3KhJY4
— Harry Kane (@HKane) November 25, 2022
“It was a game that we wanted to win and wanted to finish top of the group tonight pretty much, but it was a tough game,” Kane told the BBC. “They are a well-organised and athletic team and they caused us some problems as well.
“We are really happy with the clean sheet and the point puts us in a strong position going into the last game. We know we can be more clinical, it was probably the opposite of the first game. We’ll go away and look at the positives and negatives.”
Kane went on to say: “We are playing really good, though teams, who are fighting for their World Cup lives and we have to respect that. The most important thing was to not lose today. If win on Tuesday, we top the group.”
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