The Harry Kane experience continues to serve one classic after another
At this juncture of the footballing calendar, it just feels like a matter of inevitability. Three things are certain in life: death, taxes, and Harry Kane scoring goals, whether for England or Bayern Munich.
They just keep coming. And with such frequency that it feels almost commonplace. An event that is as effortless as breathing.
On the night he equalled Peter Shilton’s record of 125 appearances for the Three Lions, Kane once again showed his class in spades, as another brace for him not only took England one step closer to the UEFA Nations League knockouts, but it also took his tally to 91 goals in 125 appearances, and he currently is the man with the best goals-to-games ratio in international football.
Not Cristiano Ronaldo. Not Lionel Messi. But Harry Kane.
Kane is one of those rare footballers who do not claim to be the best. His body of work is such that he has every right to assert himself as one of the greatest strikers of this generation. He is currently floating in a stratosphere where he is the only inhabitant of that rarefied air that separates the good from the great.
And yet, Kane has not yet once claimed that he is the best or the greatest. His is a career that is built on hard graft, grit, grind, and sheer determination to go along with his typical British work ethic.
In this past year, Kane has morphed into an all-conquering behemoth, with goals coming at an absurd clip, a newfound habit of winning trophies, and a genuinely real chance of being the first Englishman since Michael Owen to win the Ballon d’Or. He has respect, he is loved by all and sundry, and currently he is the global choice for being considered the best striker in the world at the moment.
Add to the fact that he is as good a bloke as one can be off the field, and you cannot help but root for good things to happen to him, unless you really hate England from the bottom of your heart. He has earned absolutely everything he has gained so far. It is very difficult to be a great player on the field and be a good one off it. Yet Kane has managed to strike a perfect balance.
In a time where players are openly advocating their cases for the Ballon d’Or (Kylian Mbappé and Lamine Yamal being at the forefront of it all), Kane is going about his business in the way he knows: quietly, efficiently, and ruthlessly on the pitch. He has not used words to put his case forward, but he has ensured that the work he puts on the pitch is reason enough.
The Harry Kane experience continues to serve one classic after another, and we are all here for the ride.
