Harry Kane saves England’s World Cup... and Thomas Tuchel’s job

Kane scored the two late goals to overturn what was heading towards being one of the greatest humiliations in tournament history for England.

That is no exaggeration. Losing to the Democratic Republic of Congo in the last 32 of the World Cup would have been up there with being beaten by Iceland in the last 16 of the European Championship in 2016.

And as with Roy Hodgson quitting after that seismic shock, so Thomas Tuchel could not have expected to remain as manager had England lost. It was that precarious. Even this relatively early in the tournament.

After the post-match huddle, the England players turned and stood in front of the fans who serenaded them with Oasis’s Wonderwall, which they want to make the anthem of this campaign. That line “because maybe, you’re gonna be the one that saves me” resonated so deeply. It belonged to Kane. He saved England. Again.

The 32-year-old is a phenomenon. He is breathtaking. He has 72 goals in 62 games this season for club and country. Those are incredible numbers. Only Lionel Messi has scored more in one campaign, when he was in his pomp at Barcelona. Talk of Messi, who has shone so brightly in this World Cup with six goals, shows the company Kane is keeping.

In a tournament where the big names have stepped up – Messi, Kylian Mbappé and Erling Haaland – so has Kane. He is one of them. One of the greats. Maybe he will eventually be England’s greatest and for all the understandable debate over the importance of Jude Bellingham when we talk about England, we first talk about Kane.

His 75th and 86th-minute goals mean he now has 13 in World Cups, ahead of Pelé, and five in this tournament alone. For England he has 84 in just 118 appearances and will surely end up with more than 100, such is his appetite, such is his desire and determination. And his iron belief.

Take both the goals. England had chances against Congo, after falling behind in a first quarter in which they were a panicky mess. And that is on Tuchel. But the pressure was not paying off. That was until Kane did what great strikers do. A cross came in from substitute Anthony Gordon and Kane just wanted it, he made sure the header was his. And England were level.

If that was good then his second was brilliant as he collected a pass from Gordon, central, just on the edge of the penalty area. It was tight and congested but Kane was having none of that as he shifted it to his right, away from no fewer than three defenders, and smashed an unstoppable shot high into the net. It was an exhilarating, jubilant and – hopefully – transformative moment.

England need it to be. They are stuttering and unconvincing and far from growing into this World Cup. Next up for them is Mexico in Mexico City in the last 16 and they will have to show far more attitude in the altitude or they are going home.

So far they have been reliant on individual brilliance – whether it is Kane or Bellingham – and that is surely unsustainable. Tuchel has placed so much store on being a team, a “brotherhood”, but where is the evidence? He has still failed to provide it and there are so many questions to answer.

Team selection? He chose Noni Madueke and Marcus Rashford as his wingers. Neither worked. They were replaced by Gordon – who had a definite impact – and Bukayo Saka, and it just looks like Tuchel does not know his best team.

The curse of the right-back struck again. After losing Tino Livramento for the tournament and Reece James for the last two games, off went Djed Spence. It meant Declan Rice went back there and while he played a part in England’s equaliser, the most dominant midfielder was then substituted for John Stones.

And that defence? My, it looks so vulnerable. If Yoane Wissa had scored with a close-range shot, as he should have done just before half-time, then Congo would have been 2-0 up and England would probably have been out. Instead he hit the post.

Congo’s goal was a catalogue of errors. They kept the ball, England sat off – their pressing was all wrong – and when the cross came in from the right Spence was drawn in to cover Noah Sadiki, misjudging the bounce with it running through to Brian Cipenga, who beat Jordan Pickford at his near post. The goalkeeper had to do better, but what were Marc Guéhi and Ezri Konsa doing? The two centre-halves were marking Wissa, leaving a huge space behind. Madueke was also at fault for not tracking back. Cipenga’s backwards somersault celebration captured how upside down England were with Bellingham booked for diving into a tackle.

Tuchel had talked about not liking the hydration break but he needed it to sort things out.

England will dwell on an outstanding performance from Congo goalkeeper Lionel Mpasi, who made two superb saves to repel headers from Bellingham, with a Rashford shot cleared off the line. They will also complain about a first-half penalty they believe should have been awarded when Kane went over, maybe pushed by Axel Tuanzebe, maybe caught by Mpasi, but those are diversion tactics.

The reality is England were not good enough, not organised enough and not smart enough. Except for Kane. No one can doubt what he does. How crucial he is. We can celebrate that.

We can also celebrate that England are still here, in this tournament, and this was only the third time they have come from behind to win a World Cup knock-out tie – after the 1966 final and the quarter-final against Cameroon in 1990 – and they did show mental resilience. None more so than Kane.

[Source: Daily Telegraph]