Harry Kane of England celebrates after scoring during the second half of a FIFA World Cup Round of 32 match against DR Congo at Atlanta Stadium on Wednesday in Atlanta.
(Chris Brunskill/Fantasista via Getty Images)
ATLANTA — England has a way of summoning forth legends who serve the nation in its hour of need. From St. George vanquishing dragons to King Arthur unifying the land to Winston Churchill and Elizabeth I standing strong against foreign invaders, English heroes make their names by rising up when their country needs them most.
Being down 1-0 to the 41st-ranked team in the world might not qualify as a dark night of the soul for England, but the shadows were indeed getting longer on Wednesday afternoon as the minutes wore on. Against a gritty DR Congo squad, the Three Lions had looked, at various times, tentative, conservative, elementary, aimless, sloppy … pretty much anything but fierce, really. Congo, playing in its first-ever World Cup knockout stage match, had seized the momentum with a goal in the first seven minutes, and then spent the next hour-plus of gametime slowly squeezing the life out of England.
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And then Harry Kane started doing Harry Kane things. England’s savior arrived in the nick of time … again.
“Today itself was a tough game,” Kane conceded after the match. “We had to find moments, we had to find something when it looked like things were against us, even a couple of decisions there in the game went against us, but yeah, we still found a way.”
The first half ended on a controversial note involving Kane; he and Congolese goalkeeper Lionel Mpasi collided in the box. Depending on your perspective, either Kane kicked at Mpasi’s hands and flopped in search of a call, or Mpasi tripped Kane, who should have been awarded a penalty kick. Even after video review, officials decided Kane wouldn’t get a penalty kick, and England would remain down 1-0 heading into halftime. (Maybe it was for the best. Kane and World Cup penalty kicks have a bit of an ugly history.)
Thirty second-half minutes, one hydration break and one nervous rendition of “Country Roads” later, salvation arrived at last. Kane headed a cross into the corner of the goal, and 10 minutes later, he snared the brace with a deep rocket that Mpasi couldn’t touch.
And all of England — watching, at last, at a reasonable hour — exploded in joy.
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“As soon as he hit it, I knew it was going in. I was already celebrating,” England’s Anthony Gordon said after the match. “Anyone can score a good goal, anyone at this level can put the ball in the top corner, but it’s the consistency that he does it — every day in training, every game. It’s phenomenal. He plays at such a high, high level.”
Even the opposition had to pay respect. “We knew Harry Kane is a top-class striker; we had to keep a close eye on him,” Mpasi said in French afterward. “Unfortunately, it took just a couple of moments, two instances where our attention lapsed, and with a player like that, it ends up in the back of the net.”
Earlier this year, Kane scored his 500th goal for club and country, the first Englishman to do so. He’s scored a record 84 goals as a member of the English national team; the next closest is Wayne Rooney with 53. He’s led both the Bundesliga and the Premier League in scoring for three seasons apiece. He led the 2018 Russia World Cup in goals scored, he’s now passed the great Pelé with 13 tournament goals and he’s within sight of Messi/Mbappé territory for goals scored in a World Cup career. His list of achievements is unimpeachable, his level of clutch untouchable.
But he’ll need to play at that level for several more weeks, starting in four days against Mexico, if England wants to snap its 60-year-long stretch of World Cup futility. He’s doing everything right — leading by example, inspiring teammates, scoring goals by the armload — but whether that will be enough is a question for later this month.
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“It’s amazing to be around him every day. … He’s at the very, very top,” Gordon said. “When you’re around someone like that, you want to pick up as many habits and watch everything he does to see why he’s at that level. It’s no accident.”
After the match, an exhausted Kane and the rest of the Three Lions joined the English crowd gathered in Atlanta Stadium for a rendition of the traditional folk hymn “Wonderwall.” Whether on the pitch or in the stands, the relief at doom avoided was evident on everyone’s face.
This is Harry Kane’s moment. This is his time. It’s all in front of him and England now. Can they get it done at long last? Will that World Cup trophy be coming home?
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“I’m feeling as good as I’ve ever felt. Ultimately when I get onto the pitch, I know all the work I’ve done behind the scenes will make me ready for big moments,” Kane said. “That’s exactly what happened out there today.”
Hey, if anyone’s going to be the one who saves England this World Cup, it might as well be Harry Kane.
