'Why Kane is not England's playmaker any more'

Harry Kane’s domiciled successful Sunday’s Euro 2024 triumph against Serbia was different to what we are utilized to seeing him do for England, but it was conscionable arsenic important for nan team.

We cognize Kane tin driblet heavy and play awesome passes guardant for runners to get down nan guidance but, whether we were connected apical successful nan crippled aliases nether pressure, he had different occupation to do successful Gelsenkirchen.

As he explained afterwards, he stayed precocious early connected because Serbia were defending heavy and marking man-to-man. If he had dropped into midfield he would person brought a defender backmost pinch him, erstwhile we wanted to springiness our midfielders and different forwards arsenic overmuch room and clip connected nan shot arsenic possible.

The scheme was to time off nan midfield to it because, though Kane was not getting nan ball, he was still drafting defenders to him, which allowed our different players much space.

Kane only touched nan shot erstwhile successful nan first 35 minutes, erstwhile we were dominating nan game, but he was still providing nan focal constituent England needed up front. That is thing he is very bully astatine and it became particularly important erstwhile we were nether unit successful nan 2nd half.

When he was coming heavy to effort to thief out, location was no-one to deed for an out-ball erstwhile we did triumph it back, and Serbia were very quickly connected nan onslaught again.

He was amended disconnected staying precocious up nan pitch, holding nan shot up and protecting it, and winning free-kicks - and he did that good later successful nan game.

Unfortunately 1 of nan problems we had was we were often successful excessively overmuch of a hurry to return them, and ended up losing nan shot again consecutive away.

That showed a deficiency of acquisition because successful those situations, erstwhile you are nether pressure, you person conscionable sewage to beryllium clever, return your clip and return nan sting retired of nan game.

As Kane said himself, location will still beryllium England games erstwhile he will driblet heavy but nan measurement this 1 went dictated that things were done differently.

What he did alternatively was conscionable portion of nan occupation for immoderate centre-forward, whoever you are. When you are not rubbing nan ball, fto unsocial getting chances, you person still sewage to do your spot for nan team.

It is thing I did each nan clip myself, moving nan channels aliases moving defenders around. You cognize you person sewage to impact nan crippled someway and, moreover if you are not getting progressive astatine each successful an attacking sense, you tin play your part.

At nan aforesaid time, of people you are ever reasoning astir scoring excessively - which is what I kept saying astir Kane successful my lucifer commentary.

You willingly do each that different work, but you are besides conscionable waiting for that 1 chance that mightiness travel your way.

Kane had to beryllium very diligent but he sewage 1 successful nan end, from a beautiful shot from Jarrod Bowen. Unfortunately for him, Predrag Rajkovic made a awesome prevention to support retired his header.

For a agelong time, Kane’s domiciled for England was akin to nan measurement he often played for Tottenham Hotspur.

Go backmost to nan 2018 World Cup and he was coming backmost to nan halfway statement to cod nan shot and linking play pinch wide forwards who would hug nan touchline and alert forward.

That worked, but this is simply a different England team, and we do not request Kane to beryllium nan playmaker now we person sewage specified talented midfielders down him.

Players for illustration Jude Bellingham and Trent Alexander-Arnold tin do that excessively so, instead, portion of Kane’s domiciled is to bring them into nan crippled arsenic overmuch arsenic possible.

We will still request him to people goals, of course, but I americium not worried astir that broadside of his crippled either connected nan backmost of 1 difficult lucifer astatine these Euros.

England’s scheme worked early on.

We had plentifulness of energy, Bellingham was superb - he was superb each crippled - and Bukayo Saka was perfectly unplayable down nan correct successful nan first half, but he did not person a look-in erstwhile Serbia came into nan crippled aft nan break.

When we scored aft 13 minutes, I was reasoning we would spell connected and statesman this tourney pinch nan aforesaid benignant of convincing wins that Germany and Spain started with, against Scotland and Croatia respectively, but we surely did not do that.

Instead, from nan past 10 minutes of nan first half onwards, we really suffered. We could not get possession and Serbia accrued their tempo, their aggression and everything else.

England could not really grip that, and we could not support nan shot either – truthful we had to take sides good to clasp out, and relied connected Jordan Pickford to make a really bully prevention to bent connected for nan 3 points.

It was a reminder of how, contempt each nan talent successful this England squad, going nan region successful Germany is going to beryllium an highly difficult task.

At nan aforesaid time, we should retrieve that tournaments are not won aliases mislaid successful nan first game.

Before kick-off, Cesc Fabregas was talking astir really his Spain broadside mislaid to Switzerland successful their opening lucifer astatine nan 2010 World Cup and, astatine Qatar successful 2022, Argentina were beaten by Saudi Arabia. Both teams went connected to assistance nan trophy.

We person beaten Serbia and kept a cleanable sheet, truthful location are immoderate positives to return into our adjacent crippled successful Group B against Denmark connected Thursday - it is conscionable location is plentifulness to chew connected and activity to do to improve.

Alan Shearer was speaking to BBC Sport's Chris Bevan successful Germany.