The secret to Harry Kane’s greatness – and why this World Cup is different

Open menu

OneFootball's home page

Settings

The Independent

2 July 2026

After

Harry Kane

put it into the top corner, and the bottom corner, Declan Rice maybe put it best after

a remarkable 2-1 win over DR Congo.

England

’s striker, Rice said, is just “inevitable”.

Kane is as close to a guarantee as you can get. This is why the

team is almost entirely built around their captain, it’s why descriptions of “the

team” aren’t a total exaggeration.

Just look at the range he displayed in this very game to inspire this

first come-from-behind England win in a World Cup knockout match since 1966.

The first goal, that essential equaliser, was about supreme striker individualism, the sort of goal you expect from him. Kane had finally been afforded that moment’s extra space, partly from his own instinct, and took full advantage to bury Anthony Gordon’s looped cross.

The second goal was something more, though.

It wasn’t a vintage striker capitalising on a half-chance. Instead, it was a dominant player taking full control.

There was a symbolism in how the match-winning moment came seconds after Jude Bellingham tried to force one. The Real Madrid forward has already offered two such goals of his own,

to suggest how this will eventually become his team in the long term,

but this wasn’t his best match. It was as if he was trying to force it, to the point he shot when he should have squared for Bukayo Saka.

needed someone else in Atlanta.

And Kane stepped up.

open image in gallery

Harry Kane of

applauds fans after the team's 2-1 victory (Getty)

The ball made its way to Kane, though, and he just made sure.

This was an elite player manifesting, bending such a game to his will.

Where Kane had previously laid the ball off or quickly taken a shot in such moments earlier on, here he took the ball on, worked his way through the Congolese bodies and found the space to bury his shot into the roof of the net.

It was an utterly emphatic strike, the nature of it reflecting the sheer will that Kane was asserting.

He wasn’t "letting this happen", as Thomas Tuchel later insisted.

You could say the finish itself was reminiscent of Alan Shearer, except Kane is a forward all of his own type.

The

Bayern Munich

striker just continues to demolish records. That’s five in this

World Cup

, 13 in all his World Cups, 72 just this season, 84 in his

career. The consistency of prolific scoring over so long is remarkable.

England’s

celebrates following the

FIFA

Round of 32 match at Atlanta Stadium (PA Wire)

The slight irony to that is that this was for a long time one of those games where there was credence to the idea that Kane at this stage of his career can occasionally present tactical issues. He wasn’t at his most mobile. There were moments when the ball bounced around the area, but Kane wasn’t exactly pouncing in the manner you’d expect from a poacher with his record.

You could have been forgiven for thinking this was the time to finally bring on Ollie Watkins or Ivan Toney.

Tuchel insisted it just never crossed his mind to take off Kane. He knows what the striker is about, that the other qualities are just overwhelmingly effective

He also knows this is different to the Kane that has turned up at recent tournaments and faced similar criticism, not least at Euro 2024.

The 32-year-old is in his best shape at a tournament since the 2018

. Teammates absolutely marvel at his incredible work ethic. “The training level is insane,” one source confided to the Independent. One

insider said on the eve of the

: “We finally get a fully fit

at a major tournament”.

And now we’re seeing exactly what that is.

Players of

celebrate after the team's victory and progression to the Round of 16 (Getty)

It’s a player with the resilience, and capability, to do that. This is why you trust him, with almost everything.

And this isn’t all about the physical side to his game, either. There’s the psychological element to all of this.

Kane’s own previously iron belief has been bolstered by finally winning trophies with

. That does change a player, and has given Kane a more complete sense of himself.

Doubt is eroded.

That could be witnessed in another important way that Kane is influential.

trailed 1-0 for well over an hour, the players would have been fully aware of what this meant. The talk through the game was that this was another Iceland, maybe even worse.

Kane himself is one of four players in this squad, who were also involved in that dismal day 10 years ago.

celebrates towards the fans in Atlanta (Getty)

Then, he was an increasingly brilliant goalscorer, but one still developing.

He has gone to another level as an all-round player, and part of that is the football intelligence to properly bring such experience to bear.

Kane knew to stay calm. He’s been through it, unlike many of his young teammates. Outside the 2-1 win over Slovakia at Euro 2024, after all,

hadn’t really experienced anything like this in 10 years. They could have buckled. You could see signs of that in the first 22 minutes, before the hydration break. Players were failing to control the ball properly, hitting wayward passes, allowing the ball to roll out under their feet.

Kane, the captain, was one of a few radiating composure, telling others to stay focused.

Afterwards, he duly

made sure to tell them to actually enjoy this.

Sure, it might have been close to disaster, but there’s no point dwelling on that. It's in adversity, after all, where spirit is formed; where focus is sharpened.

Harry Kane wheels away in delight after scoring for

(Getty)

Kane also has an extra focus on his own.

If Kane is naturally sensationally single-minded about winning this

with

, he is obviously attuned to the wider context, too.

Tuchel spoke afterwards about how players like Kane see what their peers are doing,

how Kylian Mbappe is scoring

, how

Erling Haaland is scoring

The sense of competitiveness does drive them, but there’s more to it than that.

“They're all sharks,” Tuchel said. “They smell blood, they score. They're sharks.”

Kane is not just bringing that mentality to

. He’s deciding games with it - and driving England's

🔴 World Cup 2026 Live: Kane double sends England into last 16; Belgium complete stunning comeback to break Senegal hearts

caughtoffside

England route to World Cup 2026 final as Harry Kane heroics keep hopes alive

Evening Standard

Harry Kane double saves England from their worst World Cup defeat ever

Football365

Three things we learned from England win as Harry Kane saves World Cup dream

🎥 World Cup highlights: superb Kane saves England after early setback

OneFootball

Predicting which clubs the summer's biggest free agents will sign for

There are still some massive names who are set to become free agents in the summer, with some high-profile deals due to expire at the end of next month.As speculation...

Tottenham: Why James Maddison was not awarded a penalty against Leeds as Premier League issue statement

Spurs midfielder denied a big moment on his return from injuryThe Premier League has explained why Tottenham were not awarded a penalty in their draw against Leeds.As the clock ticked...

Bento's howler delays CR7's first title in Saudi Arabia 😱

An ugly mistake by Brazilian goalkeeper Bento prevented Al-Nassr from winning the Saudi League title this Tuesday.Cristiano Ronaldo’s team was leading 1-0 until the 53rd minute of the second half,...