Harry Kane admits his Euro 2016 corner duty has become a laughing matter for England under Sam Allardyce
Roy Hodgson's decision was eventually overruled by captain Wayne Rooney
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Harry Kane has admitted that Roy Hodgson’s decision to make him England’s corner taker at Euro 2016 has now become a joke amongst the current squad.
The Tottenham star went in to the tournament as the country’s first-choice striker and the top scoring Englishman in the Premier League with 24 goals.
And despite Kane’s aerial prowess – he has scored 11 of his 62 Spurs goals with his head – Hodgson bewildered everyone by putting him on corners ahead of the likes of Wayne Rooney or Adam Lallana.
England have not scored from a corner in a major tournament since World Cup 2010 and Kane says that although it was not a laughing matter at the time, it’s now something the players have had a joke about.
“I will probably never take another corner,” said Kane.
“It’s obviously a laugh and a joke now. We had a bit of a laugh and a joke with the manager about it, but it’s something that happened.
“I am happy to be in the box and hopefully I will get a goal for it. It has become a bit of a thing now on social media.
“You have just got to laugh with it. Of course, it was a disappointing moment in the summer but it’s football.”
He has since been taken off set pieces by new boss Sam Allardyce after Rooney admitted he defied Hodgson’s tactics following the first game of the tournament against Russia by taking the corners instead of Kane.
However, one thing Kane is not joking about is his lack of goals so far this season, meaning it is now nine games for club and country – stretching back to Euro 2016 – where he has failed to find the net.
The 23-year-old missed a golden chance to give England the lead in Allardyce’s first game as manager away to Slovakia but insists he is not panicking.
Instead, he is drawing on last season’s experience where he only scored three goals – two of which were for England – in his first 17 games.
“What happened last season has given me confidence,” Kane added.
“Unfortunately there was a lot of talk last year and I managed to prove a lot of people wrong so people will talk this year as well.
“I didn’t score in my first seven or eight games last season and then to go on and win the golden boot proves that it was just a matter of time.
“People might talk now or if I don’t score in the next five or six games, it doesn’t bother me.”
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments