Harry Kane has called on England’s talented attack to finally demonstrate their ruthlessness at Euro 2024 and revealed that he has been analysing match clips with Jude Bellingham in an attempt to improve their on-field understanding.
The England captain did not shirk his own responsibility for so far failing to light up the tournament, with today’s round-of-16 tie against Slovakia the perfect opportunity to deliver the display that has been missing thus far.
Gareth Southgate is poised to make only one change from the goalless draw against Slovenia, with 19-year-old Kobbie Mainoo coming into the starting lineup at the expense of Conor Gallagher.
Despite winning Group C, criticism of England’s disjointed and insipid performances has been widespread, but Kane believes the win-or-bust nature of the knockout rounds should sharpen his focus and that of his team-mates.
“We always look at what will hurt the opposition and don’t just do the same thing every game,” he said.
“I thought we did that well against Slovenia, we got into better areas and just lacked that killer instinct in the box, or with the cross or the pass.
“Slovakia will be a little different but, ultimately, it is about just having that discipline in your positions, being in the areas where we are patient enough and can hurt them, and then really about being ruthless.
“I feel we’ve been ruthless on the defensive side. In terms of blocks and blocking crosses and winning balls and now it’s down to me, the attacking players and maybe the midfielders to be a bit more ruthless in the final third of the pitch.”
To aid the fluid functioning of England’s attack, Kane and Bellingham have been studying clips to bolster their understanding of each other’s play.
The duo have only managed to make two passes to each other across the last two games despite England dominating possession against both Denmark and Slovenia.
That the pair have been engaged in such analysis away from the training pitch to ensure they operate on the same wavelength evidences the determination from within the England camp to rouse themselves from their stupor.
“I am always talking to all of the players — and with Jude we are always talking about how we can improve,” Kane explained.
“We watched clips of the Denmark game to see how we can play better. We would have liked to have played better and had more of a connection. We’re hoping that as the tournament goes on we grow more and more.
“From Jude’s point of view, he just needs to keep doing what he’s doing. In the first game, he was the best player and man of the match, and in the last couple of games none of us have reached the level we really wanted.”
Southgate eyeing century of games in charge
The encounter in Gelsenkirchen will be Southgate’s 99th as England manager and, given he has previously indicated he will step down if they do not win the tournament, the prospect of reaching a century of games in charge rests on getting past Slovakia.
“I’m really enjoying being here,” Southgate said. “I want to be here for another fortnight. I’ve got nothing to rush back for. I’m in the final of the staff padel [tennis] competition. There’s a lot to look forward to, really.”
Southgate and his players have enjoyed a day off since Tuesday’s final group game, after which some fans jeered and aimed plastic pint cups at the manager, and the level in training in recent days has led to an encouraging build-up to the knockout rounds.
“There’s definitely an excitement and a good feel around the group the last few days,” Southgate said. “It coincided with being able to have a day off the training pitch and relax a little. A bit of golf. Stuff like that.
“It’s not always science. We’re surrounded by science and data in our world now and sport is about joy and enjoyment.
“Sometimes in a tournament [football] is all you have got to think about and you need other stuff to take about and focus on… some time to switch off, which I think is crucial for the young players and the staff as well.”
Slovakia were third-place finishers in Group E, where remarkably each of the four teams in the group accumulated four points, and their biggest star is Napoli midfielder Stanislav Lobotka.
Although England only knowing the identity of their second-round opponents late on Wednesday presented scouting difficulties, Southgate has done his homework.
“I’ve seen some of Slovakia’s games months ago, they played Portugal home and away. I was very impressed,” Southgate said.
“They build from the back. In Lobotka they have a playmaker that can dictate the game, they get their full backs high early, they press very well and aggressively from the front, so you’ve got to be able to play through that pressure. It’s going to be an extremely tough game.”
