England’s life insurance: The phenomenon Harry Kane at the peak of his powers

Kane needed exactly two touches to get past three DR Congo players and get a clear shot – albeit from the tightest possible angle. Of course, that wasn’t a problem for the English national team striker in his current condition: he slammed the ball under the crossbar for the winning goal.

England defeated DR Congo 2-1 (0-1) on Tuesday evening after Kane’s brace and moved into the round of 16 of the World Cup.

Later, Kane’s teammates, experts and coaches poured out hymns of praise. “Not many nines can score this goal,” said Declan Rice: “What a shot. What a player. What a guy.”

Former France goalscorer Thierry Henry could hardly believe the way the goal was scored. “Shooting with the inside of your foot, kind of wrapping around the ball while your body is off balance,” Henry said. “Do you know how difficult it is to develop strength in this moment? And to redirect the ball like that? If I did that now, I would break my back!” It was a goal that screamed Harry Kane’s name, given the difficulty of the shot.

Thomas Tuchel initially said quite soberly: “There are close games and Harry is here to decide them.” Only to then call his attacker a “shark”, as did Kane’s similarly dangerous teammates Lionel Messi, Kylian Mbappé and Erling Haaland. “When they smell blood, they come and strike.”

The four attackers are currently dominating the headlines of the tournament in the USA, Mexico and Canada and are having their very own competition for the golden boot. In addition to Kane, Norway’s Haaland also has five goals, only France’s Mbappé and Argentina’s Messi have each scored one more.

What stands out particularly about Kane is the great influence he has on his team. Without him, England would simply no longer be at this World Cup. Against the DR Congo, the FC Bayern Munich player equalized with a header after an early deficit in the 75th minute from a cross from Gordon and secured the victory eleven minutes later. With his World Cup goals 12 and 13, he overtook Brazil legend Pelé in the all-time rankings.

Kane’s move to Bayern is paying off for England’s national team

Kane himself said after the final whistle in Atlanta that thoughts of elimination had arisen after the “many great saves” by opposing goalkeeper Lionel Mpasi-Nzau. “I’m even more proud of the boys because we never lost faith and always put the ball in the right places. So that one of us can have this hero moment.” It’s exactly what he didn’t say at that moment, namely that he is this hero, that makes him so popular with many fans, apart from his athletic quality. His great humility and his sacrifice for the team.

That’s another reason why he’s so popular at Bayern – regardless of his insane goal rate. The 32-year-old now has 84 goals in 118 international matches. He improved his goal rate at World Cups again after moving to Munich in the summer of 2023: from a rate of 0.73 to 1.25 goals per game.

The fact that he was by far the top scorer in the Bundesliga three times in a row speaks for itself. His transfer was still considered a risk under the then coach Thomas Tuchel due to his age of 30. Not for sporting reasons, but for economic reasons. On the one hand because of the transfer fee of around 100 million euros, and on the other hand because of his salary, which raised the internal level significantly. Bayern’s CEO, Jan-Christian Dreesen, said at the time that he had “gone a bit all-in” for the transfer.

It has now become clear, especially at Bayern, but also in the national team, how much this decision has paid off. Harry Kane is the best footballer version of himself and seems to be getting better every year. At this tournament he showed his skills in all facets with goals from the head, outside the box or from the penalty spot. He scores goals even from impossible positions. Added to this are his great game-making skills and his willingness to defend in his own penalty area if necessary.

It is mainly thanks to Harry Kane that England can now play against their co-hosts from Mexico in the legendary Aztec Stadium at 2200 meters above sea level in Mexico City for a place in the quarter-finals. “It doesn’t get any bigger,” said Harry Kane. The footballer who is able to get the most out of very little. And like hardly anyone else can decide games for their team.