Graeme Souness believes England made a ‘big mistake’ in their handling of the injury Harry Kane suffered at the World Cup. He also feels the Tottenham Hotspur ace was not focused.
The Three Lions skipper started all five of England’s fixtures in Qatar as Gareth Southgate’s side reached the quarter-finals. He also played 403 minutes but only scored twice and laid on three assists. One of Kane’s goals was a penalty during England’s 2-1 defeat to France.
- WORLD CUP: LIVERPOOL AND TOTTENHAM TARGET IS AMONG THE TOP 10 DEFENDERS
- WORLD CUP: TOTTENHAM DUO AND AN ARSENAL TARGET ARE IN THE TOP 10 STRIKERS
Southgate never looked like removing Kane from the England starting line-up at the World Cup, either. Even though the 29-year-old suffered an ankle injury 48 minutes into their 6-2 win against Iran to open Group B. Morteza Pouraliganji caught Kane with a poor challenge.
Kane would stay on the pitch until the 76th minute against Iran despite carrying the injury. England also declared the 80-cap ace fit to start against the USA four days later after scans on the issue. But the Tottenham forward clearly struggled for fitness as the game wore on.
A third match without a goal followed for Kane as England beat Wales 3-0, although he set Phil Foden up to score. He had laid on two assists to Raheem Sterling and Marcus Rashford on either side of sustaining the injury against Iran. The Three Lions drew 0-0 with the USA.
Tottenham star Kane was not focused on his injury but on scoring for England
Southgate finally gave Kane a prolonged rest against Wales with the England captain taken off on 57 minutes. He would then play the full 90 minutes and score against both, Senegal and France. But Souness feels the Three Lions should have been more cautious and earlier.
“Kane was not so good in Qatar,” Souness wrote in his column for the Daily Mail. “I said he had to have a very good tournament for England to win it. He was poor. Was the reason for that the ankle injury he sustained in the 43rd [48th] minute in the opener against Iran?
“They made a big mistake by leaving him on the pitch until the 76th minute. They were 3-0 up, get him off! Especially given his history of ankle problems.
“Sometimes, players need protecting from themselves. It’s about the bigger picture, about him being right for future games. But Harry was thinking about goals and the Golden Boot instead of thinking [about the] USA, Wales and beyond. England paid the price.”
Kane won the Golden Boot at the 2018 World Cup in Russia with six goals in six games. But he only struck home in the group stage and bagged from a tap-in, three penalties and also a deflected effort. So, his mind may have been on scoring and not avoiding a worse injury.
Receive exclusive football transfer news and updates twice a week to your mailbox
