Former Liverpool and Manchester City midfielder Dietmar Hamann has controversially claimed that the jury is still out on England captain Harry Kane at the highest level. Kane scored twice in England's 4-2 victory over Croatia in Dallas on Wednesday night, taking his international tally to 81 goals. The Bayern Munich striker also matched Gary Lineker's England record for World Cup goals, netting for the 10th time in the tournament.
The 32-year-old was in outstanding form for Bayern last season, scoring 61 times in 51 appearances, and appears to be continuing that form for his country. However, Hamann is not convinced Kane is as good as widely perceived and has questioned his ability to perform against elite opposition. The former Germany international suggested that Kane's World Cup goals have primarily come against weaker teams, though he notably omitted a quarter-final goal against France.
"He's scored eight in the group games. He's got two against Tunisia, three against Panama, penalty against Colombia in the round of 16," Hamann said on RTE Sport. "Out of 10 goals he's got seven or eight in the group stage. He's playing in his third World Cup now. He's the captain and he's there to score goals in the knockout games. The jury's out. I want to see him do it in the last 16 against France, in the last eight against Brazil. Whether he's capable of doing it, we don't know. He hasn't done it so far."
Hamann also downplayed Kane's achievements at Bayern, where he has scored 146 goals in 147 games, suggesting other strikers could replicate that success. "When I see him move sometimes, obviously he scores a lot of goals, then again in Munich every centre-forward has scored goals," said the 52-year-old. "It doesn't matter if he scores 35 or 25, they're going to win the league, usually. In the Champions League this is where he scored this season against Paris [PSG]. Then again, when I watch the level of Paris and watch his level, I'm not sure. I think there's a few centre-forwards in this tournament I'd probably rather have in my team than him."
He added: "In tournament football you score on the counter-attack. He won't score on the counter-attack. Because when you play against the best teams sometimes you have to sit back and then go 50-60 yards to score a goal. If [Noni] Madueke takes off, if [Anthony] Gordon or [Marcus] Rashford take off, he won't be able to keep up with him. I'm sitting on the fence for now, I've got my doubts about him. Whether he's the player that's taking England to the World Cup. At some stage in the tournament you need pace and he simply hasn't got it."
Despite his criticisms, Hamann acknowledged Kane's finishing ability is world-class. "His finishing is probably the best in the tournament, the best in the world," said the German. "Left foot, right foot, give him half a chance and he'll score. But does he get in these positions against Germany, against Brazil, against France? I'm not too sure."
