I was convinced before the World Cup that Harry Kane would have a good tournament – and he has not failed me. We can all see the difference he has made for England, not only with his goals but also because of his great movement, which creates so many chances for teammates.
There were people, before the tournament, who wondered whether Kane would be able to shine on the biggest stage and I can understand why because playing in a World Cup is very different from playing for your club. When you are representing your club you normally have a long sequence of matches to put something right that maybe went wrong in one or two games.
Though the matches in a World Cup may be as frequent, they are also far more limited – possibly only three – and we have seen with Kane that he is taking this extremely seriously. He knows this is his and England’s chance to achieve something incredible. But despite this he has not displayed any signs of nervousness or fear – only a desire to score goals and for England to win. He is playing his best football and he is making a difference to a team.
People often ask me what the secret to being a good goalscorer is but there is not just one thing that makes someone a brilliant and consistent striker. You need a bit of everything. You need technique and positional awareness; you need to be able to read the game and be quick. To be great, you need all of these things.
These attributes, however, are not just given to you, handed down to you, even if you are talented. If you don’t work hard and practise and improve all the time you will have no chance of making it to the top. The secret to being a good goalscorer, I would say, is to realise that you always need to improve. Always.
Training provides a player with situations that will happen during the game and is therefore a perfect environment for you to learn about what you should and should not be doing in a game. Moreover, you also need to be extremely persistent – and I feel that is another box Kane is ticking. Always striving to be better, always looking at the next thing to improve. That is what I do in training and I am sure Kane does too.
Kane knows this is his chance to achieve something incredible but he has displayed no fear
I practise finishing, I practise positioning and taking different positions on the field. I look at the spaces on the pitch and I try to read the opponents who are marking me – what is their next move and how can I use that to my advantage? I try to find their weaknesses and exploit them. I also practise much more with my right foot than my left foot because it is my weaker one.
All the above may sound hard work but sadly it is still not enough to be able to perform at the highest level. One key aspect to being a good striker is to stay focused throughout the game. To begin with you need to focus on just the game and not what is going on off the pitch, whether it is a headline in a paper you have read, an argument with a family member or a girlfriend or boyfriend.
Playing the game at the highest level means being focused from the start – but also to keep that focus until the very end. There are many games where goalkeepers can have a cracking game, saving everything you throw at them, before suddenly, in the 89th minute, they make a small mistake that allows you to steal in and score.
Strikers live off goals but there can be some games when there are just no chances throughout a whole game – but you still have to keep going until the very end. Kane has shown that he can do that, time and time again with Tottenham but also with England, in the first game against Tunisia, in this World Cup, when he scored a very late winner. He was sharp and focused despite it being in the 90th minute – and that is very impressive.
Confidence, of course, is important too but not in a selfish way. If a striker focuses too much on himself/herself it can have a negative effect on the team – especially if the person is always shooting, always trying to win the game on his or her own. Confidence does not come only from goals but also from being focused on the team, having good communication between teammates and having respect for your colleagues.
Everyone can have good and bad days and also good and bad spells in a game. We have to keep believing, though. For example, only this week, in my most recent game, for Orlando Pride against Washington Spirit, I started playing up front. In the second half, however, the coach put me in a different position. I created more opportunities but still the ball would not go in.
I started to think that this would not be our day but I was adamant to push these thoughts out of my head. I tried to think that we would still do it and, thankfully, in the 86th minute I received the ball in a good position, took two players on and managed to score off the crossbar! We won the game 2-1.
As I said, you have to be focused all the time. Harry Kane has shown us what he is capable of at this tournament but he has to retain his focus. The whole England team have to keep their minds on their goal. Only then can they win the World Cup. Four years is a long time to wait for the next chance.