Matthew Upson has claimed that Tottenham striker Harry Kane was ‘distracted’ by having to get involved in the build-up play, as England suffered a surprise 1-0 defeat to Hungary in the UEFA Nations League on Saturday, as he told BBC Sport.
England lost their encounter in Budapest and failed to score, with Kane searching for his 50th goal in England colours, which might come against Germany on Tuesday night.
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Just like Kane does for Spurs, he likes dropping up deep, getting a feel of the ball and showcasing his passing quality from deep.
The issue is, at Spurs, they don’t have the creative talent, depth or spark that England have, so, therefore, it becomes more of a problem when he does it on the international stage because it’s not needed.
Former Three Lions centre-back Upson touched upon Kane’s performance yesterday and how he struggled to get his team going.
“There are always difficult questions after a loss, especially in a game many would think England should win,” said Upson.
“t is about Harry Kane getting in danger areas. He played more central in that number nine role in the second half but in the first, he was so wide and deep. If I’m a centre-back for Hungary I am delighted.
“Harry Kane has not been in those key areas enough. I can only really remember him having that one shot early on. He has almost been distracted by having to be involved in the build-up and trying to get England going. It is not really his responsibility, although he feels the pressure to fulfil that role.”
ISSUES STEM FAR BEYOND KANE
In truth, England’s issues stem far beyond Kane and that’s what Gareth Southgate is bringing to the table as a manager, especially from a tactical standpoint.
The former centre-back isn’t exactly a goals-galore manager who is going to provide the neutral with a thrilling spectacle, in fact, far from it.
This England side, even without Kane in the XI, should be beating Hungary and they will be taken to the cleaners by Germany if they produce the same type of performance against them.
More than likely Kane will start again and then one more against Italy, which probably won’t please Spurs fans because his workload is still going full throttle with the domestic season at a finish.
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