England are into the quarter-finals of the World Cup after a tense and thrilling 4-3 penalty shootout win over Colombia.
Harry Kane put England ahead in the second half from the penalty spot after he had been manhandled by Carlos Sanchez. But Los Cafeteros took the game into extra-time in the final seconds when Yerry Mina headed in his third goal of the tournament just after Jordan Pickford had clawed Mateus Uribe’s long-range effort away for a corner.
Here, we analyse the performance of England striker Kane, who was spot on twice for the Three Lions.
STATISTICS
30-SECOND REPORT
In a World Cup at which he tops the scoring charts, Kane has so far plundered goals for fun and punished obsolete defences. We’re so used to seeing him make the net bulge, that we don’t often get to appreciate the all-round game of a player simply born to score goals.
We saw it all here from Kane who won 11 aerial duels and was fouled nine times by an overly aggressive Colombian defence but held his nerve in a mature display.
GOT RIGHT
Cool head – A fiery match raged on inside the cauldron-like atmosphere of Moscow’s Otkritie Arena, but while all around him were losing their heads, Kane kept his. He had to wait an eternity to take his spot kick but he dispatched it with all the coolness you’d expect from a man who extended his lead in the race for the Golden Boot.
Perseverance – Thus far Kane has killed teams with his goals. But in a much more attritional affair he was perhaps always going to find chances more limited. However, he always went searching and probing for both the ball and opportunities, winning his side a plethora of fouls.
GOT WRONG
Possession – Hard to label any criticism at a player who was once again instrumental to victory, but his hold-up play and passing was pretty poor. He completed just 61.9 per cent of his 42 passes as he failed to bring his supporting runners from midfield into play. Also posted no successful dribbles as he very much looked to run onto long balls and chase it rather than run at Colombia’s defenders.
VERDICT
In a game where Kane wasn’t able to showcase his full repertoire of skills – Colombia’s stifling and spoiling tactics saw to that – the Spurs striker rolled up his sleeves, got involved as much as he could, and put in a real shift. It was an alternative display from the marauding ones we’re used to seeing from him, but it was equally admirable from the skipper. Ultimately won England the game, first winning and then converting the penalty, and also getting the Three Lions going in the shootout.
RATING: 7/10
All statistics are compiled using whoscored.com
