Winning the World Cup’s Golden Boot is an achievement that commands immediate recognition. Or so it seemed until the Sweden striker Alexander Isak confessed on Friday that he had never heard of Gary Lineker. It transpired it was a worse day for England’s other Golden Boot winner.
As England needed a goal to beat the oldest rivals in the history of international football, Harry Kane was substituted against Scotland. The man Gareth Southgate kept on the field throughout the World Cup’s knockout stages was taken off in a second successive game.
If one of the enduring images of England’s ill-fated campaign in Euro 2016 was of Kane taking corners, perhaps their Euro 2020 will be remembered in part for the sight of their captain toiling, looking like a slow-motion version of himself.
A scorer of six goals in the World Cup has had six touches in the penalty area. A player who seemed hungry to get more involved when he dropped deeper to spray passes around for Tottenham Hotspur so far mustered a mere 19 touches on Friday. Kane was ubiquitous for Tottenham but has been rather anonymous for England.
It raises the question of whether England must think the unthinkable and drop the undroppable. Luke Shaw reacted to the stalemate with Scotland by saying: “For me, he is the best striker in the world.” There are a host of other candidates, from Robert Lewandowski downward, but Shaw’s statement felt more controversial than it would have been a week earlier.
Kane is coming off one of the great Premier League campaigns that ultimately achieved little. His return of 23 goals and 14 assists in a side that finished seventh showed he can be both scorer and creator. Thus far in Euro 2020, he has shown precious little sign of being either.
After he was removed for the closing minutes against Croatia, with England holding on to a narrow lead, there was the suggestion they had studied France’s successful World Cup and noted that Antoine Griezmann was replaced in each group game to keep him fresher.
England 0 Scotland 0: player ratings
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ENGLAND RATINGS: Jordan Pickford 7 - A vital save against O’Donnell prevented a potential opener but England’s number one didn’t have too much to do at Wembley. Reuters -
Reece James 6 - The 21-year-old cleared a ball that may have been sneaking in off the post and was dominant as usual on defence. The Chelsea man could offer more going forward though in a fairly blunt England attack on the night. Reuters -
John Stones 6 - The Manchester City defender rose above everyone to head a ball off the woodwork in the first half. Looked comfortable in defence. Reuters -
Tyrone Mings 7 - A crucial intervention stopped a cross bound for Dykes in the second half and that was the theme for the 6ft 5in defender. A dominant display in the air while dealing with Scotland’s attack comfortably. Reuters -
Luke Shaw 6 - A pragmatic selection with Chelsea’s Ben Chilwell on the bench and Shaw didn’t look threatening when in good positions in the offensive third of the pitch. AP -
Declan Rice 6 - Didn’t make any mistakes but also didn’t offer much. Southgate may consider whether a Rice-Phillips partnership may be too pragmatic. Reuters -
Kalvin Phillips 6 - Aggressive tackling showed the Leeds midfielder understood the occasion but he wasn’t as effective going forward against the Scots as he was against Croatia. Reuters -
Phil Foden 6 - Looked to beat players but it didn’t quite come off for the Manchester City man on the night. Replaced by Jack Grealish. Reuters -
Mason Mount 7 - A bright performance throughout as the Chelsea man could have had both a goal and assist in the first half. The 22-year-old also contributed well on defence, making more tackles than any other England player. Reuters -
Raheem Sterling 6 - Positive on the ball in moments but not enough. Unlucky not to pick up an assist when an incisive pass found Mount in close-range. AP -
Harry Kane 5 - One touch in Scotland’s box in the first half summed up a quiet game for Harry Kane. Whether it’s a lack of form or service, the skipper doesn’t look to be effective in Southgate’s current system. Reuters -
SUBS: Jack Grealish (Foden, 63) 6 - England fans were crying out for the Aston Villa man but he was unable to provide the spark needed. Reuters -
Marcus Rashford (Kane, 74) N/R - Provided more pace in the attack but was introduced at a time where Scotland were controlling the ball amid a good spell in the game. Reuters -
SCOTLAND RATINGS: David Marshall 7 - A good save denied Mason Mount but the Scotland goalkeeper would have expected to be much busier than he was on Friday night. Reuters -
Stephen O’Donnell 8 - A standout performer in the game saw the Motherwell star regularly stretch play down the right-hand side. O’Donnell almost got Scotland off to the perfect start with an astute cutback to Che Adams before his volley was well matched by Jordan Pickford. Reuters -
Scott McTominay 7 - Battled well on defence against frequent runs in behind from England’s midfielders. An experienced performance from the Manchester United man. Reuters -
Grant Hanley 7 - Marked runs well and looked unphased by Harry Kane - a calm figure in the middle of Steve Clarke’s defence. Reuters -
Kieran Tierney 7 - A cross found O'Donnell which produced one of Scotland’s best chances. Tierney also read the game strongly on defence - It’s clear why Arsenal look set to offer this man a new 5-year-deal. Reuters -
Callum McGregor 7 - Rarely put a foot wrong and took care of the ball. McGregor took the game in his stride and didn’t allow the occasion to get to him. Reuters -
Billy Gilmour 7 - A shaky start but adapted to the game and looked neat in possession. Eventually replaced in the 76th minute after a good shift. Reuters -
John McGinn 7 - Moved the ball with precision and helped set the tempo for Steve Clarke’s side. Showed strong character after looking to play on with a knock in the first half. Reuters -
Andrew Robertson 6 - A quiet game from the captain as England looked intent on stopping the Liverpool man’s threat from the left flank. Reuters -
Lyndon Dykes 6 - The forward worked tirelessly and won a large amount of battles in the air.to link play. Picked up good positions inside the England box which kept the defenders on alert. Reuters -
Che Adams 6 - An intense work rate combined with clever movement helped conjure a number of chances. Could have put his side a goal up early after being picked out by Stephen O’Donnell. The Southampton man has to do better with his opportunities. Reuters -
SUBS: Stuart Armstrong (Gilmour, 76) N/R - On for Billy Gilmour who worked tirelessly throughout. Adapted quickly to the game in the midfield as Scotland looked to control the ball in the latter parts of the second half. -
Kevin Nisbet (Adams, 86) N/R - On for Adams in the 86th minute. Getty
But Kane looks tired already. Perhaps that is unsurprising; Jose Mourinho showed an aversion to rotation and he has played 69 games in a calendar year.
Whether or not he is the world’s best striker, is he England’s finest right now? Southgate cited energy in his reasons for bringing Marcus Rashford on against Scotland.
Dominic Calvert-Lewin has been the target man who has understudied Kane but Rashford and Raheem Sterling represent his opposites, the sprinters who will look to spring offside traps. Take Kane out and England’s assortment of creators – Phil Foden, Mason Mount, Jack Grealish and co – do not have to worry about him occupying their space between the lines.
Southgate finds with a decision his predecessors faced: stick or twist? Kane has often been compared to Teddy Sheringham and, after two games in the 1998 World Cup, Glenn Hoddle dropped the latter for the altogether quicker Michael Owen, who was fresh from a scoring cameo and who lit up the tournament.
England failed to score in their first two games in the 1986 tournament but Mark Hateley was dropped as Lineker retained. He promptly scored a hat-trick against Poland.
But there are other parallels, of English forwards looking out of shape or unfit; Owen and Wayne Rooney in 2006, Rooney in 2010.
Kane laboured in Euro 2016, finishing a season where he played 64 times with no goals in France. And England’s Golden Boot winners have a common denominator: Kane and Lineker were prolific in World Cups, but neither has scored at a European Championships. It is up to Southgate to decide if Kane has the chance to change that.
