Southgate defends Harry Kane’s declining performance

DBasia.news – The England National Team failed to continue its winning trend when they faced Scotland in the second match of Group D of the 2020 European Cup. Harry Kane’s appearance as the spearhead was in the spotlight.

In the match which took place at Wembley Stadium, Saturday (19/6) England and Scotland drew 0-0. This result has made The Three Lions failed to ensure their move to the 16^th round.

Playing in front of the public, England actually appeared dominant. Gareth Southgate’s team’s possession of the ball reached 61%.

Unfortunately these statistics are not supported by creativity in creating opportunities. England was only able to release one shot on goal from nine attempts.

That was less than Scotland who recorded two shots on goal. Whereas Scott McTominay and his team mates were more under pressure.

England was not even able to threaten Scotland’s goal in the first half. The spotlight then fell on Kane who played as the spearhead.

Kane was only able to make ten touches throughout the first half. He also had a golden opportunity even though his finishing was poor.

Entering the second half, Kane’s performance did not change much. The Tottenham Hotspur striker was finally pulled out and replaced by Marcus Rashford in the 73rd minute.

This change is certainly a sign of Southgate’s disappointment regarding Kane’s performance. But the coach still defended his player.

“We have to look at the whole performance, not just about one player. I think Scotland looked after Kane very well,” Southgate said after the game.

“With five defenders, there’s not much space available. They were aggressive and defended well while we couldn’t find the answer.”

On the same occasion, Southgate also gave reasons for pulling out Kane. He did that to try a different way to break down Scotland’s defence.

“We need more runs from behind and I feel Marcus will give us that energy. We need to win the game at that point,” he added.

Kane failed to score in his first two matches at Euro 2020. Even though he is the favorite to win the top scorer title.

But Southgate is likely to rely on Kane again when England meet the Czech Republic in the last match. This match is very crucial because it can determine the qualification of both teams to the 16^th round.