Showered with accolades and eulogised with an inexhaustible list of compliments, Harry Kane returned to Wembley Stadium as a Ballon d’Or winner, and England’s first since Michael Owen in 2001.
Lifting the prestigious prize to the crowd, receiving a replica of the first football English industrialists brought to Croatia from veteran Luka Modrić, and then presented with a framed shirt by Prince William to celebrate becoming England’s record appearance maker.
All whilst a tifo was unfurled, emblematic of Kane’s extraordinary rise, and England’s captain was concealing his emotions upon taking a glance to his left to see the design for the first time, unwilling to disrupt his steel focus and flow, but surely filled with irrepressible pride again.
“I knew something was coming. I wasn’t sure what it was going to be. I was trying to play it cool. I was trying not to smile too much or give away too much emotion. I was trying to stay focused on the job and making sure my four kids were walking out properly, not getting left behind.”
Handling the spotlight
Inundated with his plaudits and prizes takes some managing, even though one of his ultimate dreams was realised at the ceremony in London.
Thomas Tuchel put this into perspective post-match, hailing Kane’s composure throughout the past few weeks of celebration.
“I know that it’s also demanding, he would maybe never admit it. It’s demanding to get all the recognition, all the prizes, all the acknowledgement. Of course, the gentleman that he is, he responds to everything, but it's draining, it's demanding.
“It’s easy to lose focus, which he obviously never does. So no special message from me before, but of course, we were determined to get this result on his special day, on his special evening, and that he got it in the end with a decisive penalty makes it even more perfect.”
Kane kept it simple to dispatch his penalty down the middle in the 64th minute and restore England’s advantage, bouncing back from his missed spot kick against Borussia Dortmund last month, which proved costly as Bayern Munich went on to drop points.
In his inexorable pursuit to score a century of goals for The Three Lions, 27 of his 92 goals have come from penalties.
The versatile architect
But in this developing reinvention of Kane, bundling his vast knowledge and enriching his accomplished toolbox, he is as much the versatile architect as the goalscorer prowling the box.
His first few fizzing passes to hit the space from deeper areas went astray, almost as a ploy to make everyone temporarily lower their expectations.
Of course, following England’s ponderous opening ten minutes against Croatia, his sublime passes were sprayed out to his teammates and tormented the visitors.
Jude Bellingham held his position, wandered into the space, and simply waited for the ball to land right where he wanted, and Kane’s fellow talisman volleyed it across goal for Morgan Rogers to steer home.
Kane said: “I think it’s an area of the pitch I like to play in, that left pocket. I think the more I play with the guys, the more relationships I build up with Jude (Bellingham), and Morgan (Rogers), and Trent (Alexander-Arnold), and whoever’s playing.
“They know when I’m in that position, I’m probably going to play that type of ball, so you see the way they make the runs.
“Passing’s a big strength of mine. It’s something I practiced a lot when I was young and still do now, and you’ve seen over recent years especially that it's been a big weapon. I’m always trying to play the balls in the best place for it to be the most effective pass.”
Rogers arrived centrally, vacating his spot on the right wing and filling in for Kane, whose teammates shuffled and increasingly worked around each of his forays.
This came once Kane ensured he audaciously arrowed one crossfield from right-back to left-wing, and received the ball from the back four, albeit he was not quite taking goal-kicks as Arsenal found out on their travels in Europe.
Standards that seldom drop
Bursting onto the scene and shaping your legacy on longevity is one way to set you apart in the higher echelons, but Kane’s journey of trials, tribulations, and work ethic since that debut for England 11 years ago sends equally potent messages.
Kane’s demeanour has all the hallmarks of an England great, and a Ballon d’Or winner.
He continues the drastic revisions to the number nine role heralded in by the likes of Lionel Messi, or it could simply be that these guys are that good that they can roam as they please without a flicker from their head coach.
This was another night for him to bask in, to bottle up, but for a professional athlete, another challenge is always around the corner. This insatiable drive is consuming, but it is exactly how he preserves his place at the top.
“I don’t know if I’ve fully taken it all in. The reception that I’ve had has been overwhelming and incredible.
“Maybe in the winter break when I’ve got a couple weeks off, I’ll be on the beach somewhere and will try and reflect on everything I’ve achieved, because these ones are probably the biggest in my career without a doubt.
“Whether I'll be able to do that during my career, I’m not so sure, because I think I’m so focused on the next thing and the next moment.”
