How is Harry Kane's playing style different from previous major tournaments?

Along with the difficulties England faced in the opening two matches, Harry Kane also did not perform well. This is also true in the opposite direction, when the 30-year-old star was stuck, the "Three Lions" also had to face challenges.

Kane needs quality support from his teammates around him, but his teammates also need him to provide a platform for them. In the matches against Serbia and Denmark, neither of these things happened as expected.

Harry Kane did not leave much of an impression after two matches at EURO 2024. Photo: AFP

After two games, Kane has averaged just 26 touches per game. In his previous four major tournaments for England, the Bayern striker has averaged 37 touches per game. In other words, Kane is now involved in 30% fewer games than he was in previous tournaments.

This decline is even more noticeable when considering touches in the penalty area. At EURO 2024, Kane has averaged just 1.1 touches in the opposition box per game, compared to an average of 3.3 at EURO 2016, World Cup 2018, EURO 2020 and World Cup 2022. This results in fewer shooting opportunities for the 1993-born striker. Kane averages just 1.7 shots per game, the lowest of any major tournament he has participated in.

In addition, England’s attacking system is no longer set up to exploit Kane’s all-round quality. With Phil Foden often moving into the middle, the “Three Lions” only have Bukayo Saka ready to run in behind the opponent’s defense.

In previous tournaments, Kane has often dropped back to hold the pitch and made sharp passes to the wingers. At EURO 2020, Southgate's system has two wingers with speed and agility.

Raheem Sterling started every game of the campaign three years ago, Saka started three and Jadon Sancho played in the quarter-final against Ukraine. Jack Grealish has also followed suit, often coming on in the second half.

At EURO 2020, Kane made an average of 5.4 passes per game to the Three Lions' wingers. At the 2022 World Cup, this statistic is 4.6 times per game. In both tournaments, Kane's tactic of making passes to the wingers has been effective for England.

So far at EURO 2024, the 30-year-old has averaged just 3.5 passes to England’s wingers (Saka, Foden and Bowen) in two games, and these passes have not been effective.

England's attacking connection is really having problems. Photo: AFP

What is perhaps more worrying is the players who have been providing passes to Kane. In the last two games, the player who has provided the most passes to Kane has been goalkeeper Jordan Pickford.

The Everton goalkeeper has made eight long passes to Kane, accounting for 29% of the total passes the Bayern star has received. In contrast, at the 2022 World Cup, Pickford has made just nine passes to Kane in five games. As a result, Kane is receiving the ball from further away, making it difficult for him to receive the ball and causing problems for the opposition defence.

At EURO 2024, the England captain has not received a single pass from central midfielders Declan Rice (played together for 160 minutes) and Conor Gallagher (37 minutes). He has only received one pass from Trent Alexander-Arnold (123 minutes).

Previously, Rice made 10 passes to Kane at the 2022 World Cup and 17 at EURO 2020. For EURO 2024, the connection from the center of midfield to the "No. 9" of the "Three Lions" seems to be non-existent.

Harry Kane did not receive much support from the surrounding satellites. Photo: AFP

Another obvious issue is the absence of Luke Shaw at left-back. In the last two tournaments, Kane has combined with Shaw a total of 59 times (5.4 times per game), more than any other player.

With Kieran Trippier playing left-footed in Luke Shaw’s place at EURO 2024, the left-back/forward combination has not been as effective as before. Trippier and Kane have only combined four times in two matches.

Source: https://laodong.vn/bong-da-quoc-te/cach-choi-cua-harry-kane-khac-the-nao-so-voi-cac-giai-dau-lon-truoc-day-1356581.ldo