The Harry Kane drought was strategic all along. Expect the deluge to begin against Senegal. That was the message from the England captain, who declared himself injury free and ready to use the experience of the World Cup in Russia and the Euros to time his entry into the race for the golden boot at Qatar 2022.
“In 2018 I felt from a physical and mental perspective I started the tournament great. I used a lot of energy as it went on and felt my form dipped in the latter stages. I was conscious of that in the Euros where it went the other way. I want to be in best shape in the knockout stages. Only time will tell but hopefully I will come into my best form,” Kane, the 2018 golden boot winner, said.
“I would love to be sat here with two or three goals but group stages have gone well. I’m going into the knockout stages feeling really good, fit and sharp. I’m as match fit as I’m ever going to feel. The foot feels fine. I had a knock in the first game but it’s getting better day by day, almost don’t feel it at all. I feel I’m playing well. You are judged on goals most as a striker but, as always, I’m a calm individual and focusing on the team. Hopefully I can get off the mark tomorrow.”
While Kane has been building slowly, England’s other Harry, Maguire, has excelled at centre-back alongside John Stones, keeping successive clean sheets against the USA and Wales. Since set-pieces are a focus for Senegal, Maguire will arguably be the most influential Harry in Gareth Southgate’s selection.
Asked to account for Maguire’s return to form after a disappointing start to the season at Manchester United, where he is no longer an automatic starter, Southgate said: “He’s a good player first and foremost. He knows we have belief in him. He has had huge performances for England in two tournaments where we have made huge progress.
“He has been unfortunate in having change of managers and philosophies, plus injury. So he’s missed time. It’s about confidence with players of his qualities. And we play a way that suits him. He feels the love of the fans, which was brilliant to hear. That has not been the case these past few months. He has helped form a bedrock for this team.”
World Cup 2022 top scorers
- Alvaro Morata (Spain) – 3
- Kylian Mbappe (France) – 3
- Marcus Rashford (England) – 3
- Enner Valencia (Ecuador) – 3
- Cody Gakpo (Netherlands) – 3
- Bruno Fernandes (Portugal) – 2
Southgate acknowledged the progress made by African champions Senegal under the stewardship of coach Aliou Cisse. He is expecting the last 16 fixture to be the hardest challenge England have faced. He is also confident in the ability of his tournament-hardened team to meet it. “The biggest thing for us is expectation levels. We were more excited in Russia. Though we enjoyed the wins this time, everything was geared around the first knockout win in ten years (at the 2018 World Cup).
“We have to take a step at a time. The first objective was to quality. There was a lot of noise after the second game (USA) but we stayed calm and qualified as well as any. Now we have to get this bit right as well. It’s great that we have the whole squad available and all feeling good about themselves. We know the quality of the opposition but we have believe in ourselves as well.”
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‘African teams can beat anybody,’ warn Senegal
Senegal’s preparations for the last-16 match against England have been disrupted by illness to coach Aliou Cisse. Assistant Regis Bogaert, who replaced Cisse at Saturday’s media conference, said the coach had been isolating with a temperature but hoped he would recover in time to take his place in the dugout.
“Cisse has been sick for a couple of days. He let us take training, obviously with his instructions,” Bogaert said. Senegal are one of two African nations into the last 16 alongside Morocco. Tunisia and Cameroon failed but closed out the group stage with important victories over France and Brazil respectively, the latter the first time the five-time champions had lost to an African team.
Bogaert claimed the progress of African nations is a motivating factor for Senegal. “If Cameroon can beat Brazil and Tunisia can beat France then we can beat England. That’s a very important message we have taken on board,” he said. “Four years ago we were knocked out by Japan on yellow cards. Since then the team has grown. We have made a final and won a final in the Africa Cup of Nations. We have matured as a team. African teams are developing. We are good enough to beat anybody. And we have to believe that.”
Bogaert believes victory over England would rank among the most important since the win against defending champions France on Senegal’s World Cup debut in 2002. “It would be a tremendous achievement. For the players the objective is to show we are capable of playing one of top five ranked teams in world. If we can beat a team like that it sends out a very strong message about the progress we have made.”
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Though Senegal are without their most celebrated player, Sadio Mane, they boast a wealth of experience, and as Bogaert pointed out, they have matured as a team and have come further at this World Cup without their talisman than they did in Russia with him.
“Mane is a very important player for our country. He is one of the leaders. He stays close with the players, always in contact with them, and he has a role to play even if he is not on the pitch,” Bogaert said. “But we are not a one meant team. In 2018 things were very different. We won our first match, but lacked experience. We played Japan second knowing if he won we would qualify. We didn’t take out chances. The third match was tough. We needed a draw and didn’t know if to play for a win or a draw.”
The rankings identify England and France as likely quarter-final opponents. This has fed into much of the media commentary with commentators from both European super-powers already anticipating that clash, leaving Bogaert hoping to take advantage of that. “We read as little as possible but of course we do get wind of some things. I hope the English are going to underestimate us as well and we surprise them.”
He added that the Senegal players are familiar with English football with five members of the team playing at English clubs. He spoke of the respect his players have for the Premier League and the national team but invoked the spirit of Cisse by insisting that Senegal were coming for the win.
“The English league is very attractive now and an experience some of our players have. We know it is very competitive and they have a good national team as well with some of best players in the world. England are strong in many areas. We have studied their set plays. We have identified some things. Let’s just say set pieces can be decisive. Our strategy is in place.”
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