GARY LINEKER has questioned whether it could be time for Harry Kane to retire from international football following England’s Euro 2024 heartache.
Spain beat Gareth Southgate’s men 2-1 in Berlin on Sunday night as they were crowned European champions.
It is the Three Lions’ second successive defeat in the final of the Euros, following on from their penalty shoot-out loss to Italy three years ago.
The result also means Kane‘s wait for a first major trophy of his career goes on despite his prolific goalscoring record.
The England skipper has 406 goals in 643 appearances for club and country.
He is Tottenham and England’s record goalscorers – and still won the Golden Boot at the Euros despite struggling for much of the tournament.
Yet his non-existent performance in the final has received criticism, with just 13 touches, one shot, five passes and one touch inside the box – after not having any touches inside the area in the Euro 2020 final.
And Lineker has speculated about Kane potentially hanging up his boots for England.
Speaking on The Rest Is Football, he said: “Part of [looking to] the future in my mind was what England do, what does Harry Kane do? He was not himself in this tournament.”
When pressed on why that was the case, he added: “He’s in his 30s now, Micah. When I was 30, 31, my legs started to go.
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IT now seems as though he really is cursed. Along with the rest of us, writes Charlie Wyett.
Tragically, unbelievably, Harry Kane’s agonising search for a trophy still continues and you know have to wonder whether he will ever actually manage it.
Certainly for England, in any case.
Kane has now suffered defeat in three major club finals and two finals of the European Championships.
Last night, the Three Lions captain was so ineffective that he was replaced by Ollie Watkins just after the hour.
Like much of this tournament, he really struggled to make the impact when England needed him, not that he had much service.
He had one shot in the first half and that was Rodri, who subsequently injured himself and went off at the break.
When Cole Palmer struck that brilliant equaliser, Kane was off on his feet from the bench, only for the national team to get another kick in the bo**ocks at the end.
Kane was substituted in both the games against Switzerland and Holland which England went on to win but on this occasion, he could only witness a gut-wrenching twist just when it looked as though Gareth Southgate’s team had dug their way out of trouble.
The Bayern Munich striker suffered the World Cup 2018 semi-final loss against Croatia, endured heartbreak against Italy in the Euro2020 final and then missed from the spot in the World Cup 2022 quarter-final against France.
He really thought that this was his time, even though England did not play well in Germany.
Kane will know that he will have more opportunities with England. But not many more.
The World Cup in the United States, Canada and Mexico seems a long way away and it will surely be under a new manager. Will England be better than they are now? Probably not.
And we are all left to wonder how much better England would have been with a fit and firing Kane at his very best.
Read the full verdict on the curse of Harry Kane…
Or check out all of Charlie Wyett’s Euro 2024 stories…
“I retired from international football at 32. At 31 that was happening [legs going] and it’s horrible, it’s horrible.”
Later in the conversation, Lineker then admitted he saw a resemblance between himself in Euro 92 and Kane at Euro 2024.
Lineker, who scored 48 goals in 80 games for England, started all three games at Euro 92 but failed to hit the back of the net.
He said: “I will compare it [Kane’s performances] a little bit to my final tournament.
“I felt [it] in that last season – which is one of the reasons I decided to retire from international football, to finish in English football, to move to Japan.
“I could feel my legs going. I was poor in that last [major tournament, Euro 92].
“I was made a martyr because Graham Taylor brought me off but he had every right to bring me off because I was passed my best. It happens to some people at some point.
“Maybe he was just tired or carrying a little something that affected him and that [his legs going] might not be the case.
“But I wonder. What is he, coming up to 31 now? That’s exactly the time when I started to feel that way.”
Kane has 66 goals in 98 games for England – 13 more than second-place Wayne Rooney.
And while he failed to win a trophy in his first season with Bayern Munich, he showed no sign of slowing down in front of goal as he netted 44 times in 45 games.
ENGLAND fell at the final hurdle at Euro 2024, losing to a dramatic late Mikel Oryazabal winner as Spain won the tournament.
We have all the latest reaction and news on England – plus Gareth Southgate’s future – in our brilliant LIVE BLOG.
