Does Harry Kane’s Legacy Ride On This World Cup?

In worldwide soccer, England’s Harry Kane is as stellar as they arrive. As his crew prepares to tackle Senegal within the Spherical of 16 on the 2022 FIFA World Cup, he wants simply three extra strikes to cross Wayne Rooney’s mark of 53 and change into the nation’s all-time main aim scorer. And if the Three Lions win and advance to the semifinals in Qatar — which in addition they did in Kane’s first World Cup 4 years in the past — Kane could have been captain for the whole thing of what’s arguably England’s most profitable period.

That’s on prime of his home document, which is just rising after a whirlwind first portion of the 2022-23 Premier League season. Twelve targets in his first 15 video games places Kane on tempo for 30 in a single season, a feat solely achieved 11 occasions earlier than by 9 gamers within the Premier League’s 30-year historical past. Thirty targets normally results in the Golden Boot award, and, if not for Erling Haaland’s astonishing debut in English soccer — Haaland is on tempo for greater than 50 up to now for Manchester Metropolis — Kane can be on his strategy to tying Thierry Henry for a document fourth award. As it’s, Kane wants solely 5 extra targets in his subsequent eight video games to change into the quickest ever to 200 Premier League targets, and one other 66 to overhaul Alan Shearer because the Premier League’s all-time main aim scorer.

However regardless of all of Kane’s particular person accomplishments, his lack of a crew trophy — both internationally or on the membership stage for Tottenham Hotspur — has been the largest sticking level in his profession to this point. With England nonetheless 4 wins away and carrying solely a 9 % probability of lifting its first World Cup since 1966 (in keeping with FiveThirtyEight’s predictions), is it potential for Kane to be thought of the G.O.A.T of English soccer with out hoisting a chunk of championship {hardware}?

Kane’s simple success would recommend sure. In spite of everything, you win soccer matches by scoring greater than the opposite crew, and few have been higher at supplying these scores. Whereas critics will level to his comparative lack of manufacturing within the video games that may have given him that elusive first trophy — in 13 semifinals and finals for membership and nation, Kane has scored simply thrice — his general fee of 1 aim per each 1.5 video games will almost certainly depart Kane sitting prime of the scoring charts for each the Premier League and England when his profession is over.

Nonetheless solely 29 years outdated, Kane hasn’t but performed lengthy sufficient to enter the document books for all-time appearances. However being on the suitable facet of 30 means Kane nonetheless has a probably lengthy home and worldwide profession forward of him. The character of his conventional No. 9 place — which permits him to be the focus on offense whereas limiting his working relative to wider attacking gamers like Raheem Sterling and Marcus Rashford — might assist Kane proceed to play on the prime stage for a lot of seasons to come back. 

After a string of accidents plagued him early in his profession — Kane missed a mean of 11 video games per season between 2016-17 and 2020-21 — he hasn’t missed a sport for Tottenham because of harm since an ankle drawback stored him out for 2 video games towards the tip of the 2020-21 season, in keeping with Transfermarkt. Barring a serious harm, Kane might be a part of Frank Lampard and Steven Gerrard as the one gamers ever to make a minimum of 100 appearances for England and 500 within the Premier League. 

Then there’s arguably Kane’s most underrated achievement: his largely profitable captaincy of the nationwide crew, significantly in comparison with what got here earlier than. 

When Kane took over the reins earlier than the 2018 World Cup, England was within the midst of arguably its most dismal spell of worldwide play because it didn’t qualify for 4 straight main tournaments from 1972 to 1978. His captaincy was preceded by the glitz and glamor of England’s ‘Golden Era’ — a sequence of England groups between 2002 and 2006 that featured among the world’s greatest names, together with Gerrard, Lampard, David Beckham, Rio Ferdinand, John Terry, Michael Owen and Wayne Rooney — which did not advance previous the quarterfinals of three straight tournaments, falling effectively in need of lofty expectations.

Then got here an period that was crammed with largely laughable and embarrassing moments. England didn’t qualify for the 2008 European Championship beneath supervisor Steve McClaren, who was branded “A wally with a Brolly” after he stood on the sideline holding an umbrella within the ultimate minutes of a 3-2 residence defeat to Croatia that ended England’s qualification hopes. On the 2010 World Cup in South Africa, archrival Germany beat England 4-1 within the Spherical of 16. On the 2014 World Cup in Brazil beneath supervisor Roy Hodgson, England completed on the backside of its group with solely a degree in opposition to Costa Rica to cling onto. After which on the 2016 European Championship, nonetheless with Hodgson on the helm, it misplaced to Iceland — a rustic of simply 335,000 individuals — within the Spherical of 16.

However these follies ended with the arrivals of supervisor Gareth Southgate and Kane as captain. Amongst English captains, Kane has loved one of the best profitable proportion at main tournaments, with 11 victories in 16 video games. The one captain to come back close to Kane’s document — and, admittedly, it’s a giant identify — is Bobby Moore. Underneath Moore, England gained the 1966 World Cup on residence soil, reached the semifinals of the 1968 European Championship after which misplaced within the quarterfinals on the 1970 World Cup.

Kane can’t match the shiny gadgets in Moore’s trophy case, nevertheless it hasn’t been for an absence of attempting. Along with his efforts with the nationwide crew, he’s been the catalyst behind one of the profitable Tottenham spells because it gained the unique English First Division within the 1960-61 season. And he led Spurs on their historic run to the 2019 UEFA Champions League Last, solely to lose to a traditionally nice Liverpool crew. A scarcity of spending energy in contrast with the likes of Manchester United, Arsenal and Chelsea — Tottenham has simply the fifth-highest web spend within the Premier League previously 5 seasons — has additionally hindered their probabilities at turning into the kings of England.

With so many various components contributing to a crew’s success, the controversy for a lot of famous person athletes is how a lot the shortage of a title takes away from their greatness and their place in historical past. However there’s little query over whether or not crew trophies add to a participant’s legacy and general resume.

And if lifting the FIFA World Cup Trophy as captain is the ultimate jewel in Kane’s crown, time is working out. No participant has ever captained England at greater than three main tournaments, and with Declan Rice ready within the wings to take over, the 2022 World Cup might be Kane’s final as captain. Whether or not it’s Mike Trout, Henrik Lundqvist or Dan Marino, we all know that numerous nice athletes plying their commerce typically fall by means of the cracks and don’t win something.

The foundations of Kane’s legendary profession have already been laid. And will he lead England to the promised land and win the World Cup in Qatar (and even in 4 years’ time in North America), there can be just about no argument in opposition to his standing as the best participant ever born on English soil. With out that accomplishment, although, there’ll at all times be a query round what’s lacking from Kane’s profession — and it’s as much as him to erase these doubts this month.

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