Bayern star Harry Kane has missed out on the European Championship tournament so far. The British press are publicly counting the Three Lions captain out ahead of the semi-final against the Netherlands.
No time? blue News summarizes for you
- In the quarter-final against Switzerland, England's star ensemble also fails to really convince, but still makes it to the European Championship semi-final.
- Harry Kane, the captain of the Three Lions, is harshly criticized in England. "He's immobile and can't develop freely," is the verdict of the Guardian, for example.
- England face the Netherlands in the semi-final on Wednesday.
England's national team captain Harry Kane has come in for heavy criticism at the European Championship in Germany despite the Three Lions reaching the semi-finals. His once again inconspicuous performance in the 5:3 penalty shoot-out victory over Switzerland has fuelled doubts, particularly in the media, that the 30-year-old FC Bayern star is not currently in the best of health.
"That's not the Kane we know. He's immobile and can't develop freely," was The Guardian's verdict on the quarter-final, in which Kane was substituted before the penalty shoot-out. "Kane looked a yard off the pace the whole time," wrote Sky Sports.
"He doesn't look fit, he's lazy, he really annoys me," blasphemed former Tottenham professional Jamie O'Hara on "talkSPORT" about the Bayern striker. "I'm worried that we have a Ronaldo in the team and we have to let him play."
Question marks over Kane's fitness
Kane himself gave the all-clear after being substituted in extra time. "I'm fine, I was just tired. I had a bit of cramp there, tripped over a couple of water bottles and both calves were cramping," said Kane, who was replaced by Ivan Toney. Without the captain, who is not usually substituted, all five England professionals later scored in the penalty shoot-out.
Although Kane scored two goals in the tournament, he does not look fully fit after suffering back problems in the final stages of the season with Bayern. The English branch of the portal "Goal.com" even categorized Kane as a "loser" after the Switzerland game. "The truth is that Kane hasn't been useful for a long time." In the opening game against Serbia (1-0), there was a half in which Kane only touched the ball twice.
