Harry Kane ready to ‘rock and roll’ when England need him most

If a week is a long time in sport, what about three years? That's how long ago Harry Kane was Golden Boot winner at a major tournament, the last major tournament to be played in fact.

But after a slow start to Euro 2020, England's captain and talisman is having to defend his form or lack thereof so far. Kane is yet to score at the tournament with his sluggishness being largely blamed for England's overall lack of fluency in the final third in their three games up to now.

The Three Lions won their group without conceding a goal but it was at the other end where plenty was left to be desired with Raheem Sterling the only man to have found they net so far with winning goals against Croatia and Czech Republic.

Kane has previous for delivering when it matters for his country and need only point to being top scorer in Russia three summers ago, and while those watching on on the outside may have a few doubts about the Tottenham striker, the man himself has none whatsoever.

"People are quick to change their mind, it wasn't too long ago when I won the Golden Boot and I was the best thing in the world, people were raving about you, and that's why I've always said, as a footballer, you can't get too high or too low, you just have to have than neutral mode, self-belief is a huge thing," he said.

"I've always believed in myself. I could go 10, 15 games without scoring but give me a chance and I'd back myself to score it. Like I said, I'm in a good place."

Next up is Germany and a hugely-anticipated knockout game that needs no introduction.

The Germans squeezed through Group F behind world champions France but only after an almighty scare against Hungary in their final game.

Their patchy form has some observers predicting a far more winnable game than you might expect for a team England haven't beaten competitively for 20 years.

The potential for an opposition setting up to attack against them for the first time is perhaps more reason for optimism though with Kane routinely coming up against resolute and rigid lines of four in the group stage.

Germany are unlikely to set up that way, something a fellow Spurs and England legend believes will be just what Kane needs.

"I do believe, in this sort of game, Harry Kane is going to come alive - and he's going to have to come alive," Glenn Hoddle said ahead of the match. "He's got to play like a number nine. He's got to play in the box, be the link man, be the target man, make sure he keeps the moves flowing, the pattern of play flowing, but get in the box.

"And, of course, he's got to get some service. I think there'll be a little bit more space for Harry. If he gets up against (Mats) Hummels, he isn't the paciest.

"Germany play quite a high line and (Manuel) Neuer gets away with a few things. There's a bit of space in behind and I think Harry's better off, for this game, off the shoulder and being the last man.

"I think he'll start coming up trumps. He has looked leggy and he won't be happy with how he's been playing, but this is a typical game where he's ready to rock and roll."

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It was again an injury-hit season on the domestic front for Kane but while talk of just where he will be playing his football whenever he returns from international duty this summer continues to swirl, concerns over his fitness were few before a ball was kicked.

But as Hoddle observed Kane has cut a leggy figure for much of the tournament thus far with too much of the play seemingly going on around him rather than through him as England would prefer.

It's an opposite story to that of Russia where he hit the ground running in the groups before tailing off as England reached the last four.

He believes this time he is primed to strike just when his team need him to the most.

"Going into Tuesday night, physically, I'm in the best shape of the tournament so far, and that's what I kind of wanted going into this," he added.

"I felt maybe in Russia I started on fire, scored loads of goals, then maybe didn't have my best performances in the most important games, the quarters and the semi-finals, so coming into this, physically, I wanted to make sure I was peaking at the right time.

"Obviously we won't know until Tuesday night if that's the case, but the way I feel, that's the way I feel it's going."

His country and its fans will hope it does.