Harry Kane’s final task of the finest season of a magnificent career is to attend to unfinished business as England’s World Cup captain.
Kane is England’s ‘Mr Irreplaceable’ – as proved when Thomas Tuchel’s side were ominously toothless when drawing with Uruguay then losing to Japan in March friendlies at Wembley.
The 32-year-old’s fitness will be Tuchel’s biggest concern as they prepare to start their World Cup campaign against Croatia in Dallas on 17 June, not simply because of his status as England’s all-time record scorer with 78 goals in 112 games, but also because they have no-one remotely in Kane’s class.
If Kane stays fit, and in the remarkable form that brought him 64 goals in 56 games for Bayern Munich this season, England’s hopes will soar.
If not, the reverse applies.
As former England striker Chris Sutton told BBC Sport: “Harry Kane is so important that if he announced his international retirement this afternoon, everyone would instantly view England’s World Cup chances in a different, more pessimistic light.”
Silverware has come late in Kane’s career after barren years at Tottenham Hotspur, when even his stunning goalscoring numbers could not bring glory.
He is now making up for lost time by winning a second successive Bundesliga with Bayern Munich, then scoring a hat-trick as they beat Stuttgart 3-0 in the German Cup final.
And Kane now has his sights set on delivering the biggest prize of all as he leads England on their latest quest to end the search for men’s success stretching back to the 1966 World Cup win.
England’s countdown to their opening World Cup game continues when they play New Zealand in a friendly at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Florida, on Saturday (21:00 BST).
Kane has suffered the disappointment of losing successive European Championship finals with England to Italy and Spain, as well as a World Cup semi-final defeat by Croatia in 2018 and a quarter-final loss to France in Qatar.
Now Kane’s stellar form and fitness suggest the time might be right for England and their talisman to overcome the barrier that has brought 60 years of pain.
