Thomas Tuchel may well consider himself fortunate to manage a side blessed with the most lethal marksman in world football. Harry Kane is on fire, pur...
Thomas Tuchel may well consider himself fortunate to manage a side blessed with the most lethal marksman in world football. Harry Kane is on fire, pure and simple. When the ball lands at his feet in the area, the net ripples with a predictability that terrifies defenders. Yet, for all the comfort that Kane's clinical finishing provides, a creeping unease is settling over the England camp. The question is no longer whether Kane can deliver, but what happens when he cannot. A team that leans so heavily on one man for goals is a team walking a tightrope without a safety net.You only need to cast a mind back to the grim aftermath of the 2014 World Cup in Brazil to understand the alternative. England's tournament was over before the group stage had properly begun. A second string side, shorn of its talismanic figures, shuffled through a desperate 0. 0 stalemate with Costa Rica in Belo Horizonte. It was not just a poor result; it was an indictment. The Football Association faced the bleak reality that the national team's humiliations no longer carried the shock of the new. They had become the norm. That memory, as unpleasant as it is, should serve as a cold shower for anyone getting too cosy with the idea that Kane alone can carry this side to glory.So what is Tuchel to do The German manager, a man who prizes tactical flexibility above all else, must find a way to coax goals from the supporting cast. Bukayo Saka, Phil Foden, and Marcus Rashford each possess the technical ability to unlock a low block and finish with composure. Yet too often they drift, looking for Kane rather than taking responsibility themselves. If England are to avoid becoming a one trick pony, somebody must step up and share the burden. The captain cannot be expected to rescue the side every time the transitional play breaks down.It is not a crisis, not yet. Kane is in scorching form and the team is winning. But football has a nasty habit of punishing those who fail to plan. If the others cannot find their shooting boots, we will be left watching a side that is only as good as its star striker. And when that star is absent, or merely quiet, the memories of Belo Horizonte will start to feel terribly fresh again.
