Harry Kane got England out of jail against DR Congo(Image: Getty Images)
Didi Hamann has changed his tune about Harry Kane after the Bayern Munich striker saved England at the World Cup. The Three Lions were on the brink of disaster when they trailed to Brian Cipenga’s seventh-minute strike, only for Kane to step up with a late brace to book a last-16 showdown with Mexico in Mexico City.
The double took his overall World Cup tally to 13, with five in this tournament alone. He had already overtaken Gary Lineker to become England’s all-time leading scorer at the tournament.
However, one of the few people not convinced by the former Tottenham striker on the biggest stage is Hamann, who controversially suggested his numbers flattered him and that he hadn’t done it when it mattered most against the world’s best at international level.
Speaking on Irish channel RTE during the group stage, the former Liverpool and Manchester City midfielder said: “I think he’s scored eight goals in the group stages – two against Tunisia, three against Panama and a penalty against Colombia.
“He’s the captain and he’s there to score goals in the knockout games. The jury’s out. I want to see him do it against France and Brazil. Whether he’s capable of doing it, we don’t know yet.”
Those comments attracted plenty of criticism and ridicule. But following his heroics against Congo, Hamann lavished praise on Kane, who is battling Lionel Messi, Erling Haaland and Kylian Mbappe for the World Cup’s Golden Boot.
Hamann described the 32-year-old as “phenomenal” on RTE. Speaking to his fellow pundits, he said: “I think we played with some of the best strikers in the world. I’m not sure whether there has ever been a striker like him, who finishes like he does.
“His shooting technique, both feet, not only the right foot, he does it with the left as well. It’s simply outstanding, and if you give him half a yard in the box, even with five minutes to go, when he’s a bit tired, when he has got 85 minutes in his legs, he still picks his spot, and he puts it exactly where he wants. Outstanding.”
Kane modestly praised his teammates following England’s comeback victory, saying: “I’m proud of the group, proud of the boys. We spoke before the game about how difficult this game would be.
“You’re coming up against a good team who defend and watch really well. They were dangerous in the counter-attack, as we saw in that first 20 minutes of the game.
“So we had to just grind a win out, and I thought we played some really good stuff after 25 minutes of the game. Their keeper made some incredible saves, to be fair to him, and you start to think maybe it’s just one of those days.
“But that’s where I’m most proud of the boys and myself as well, just to keep the belief, keep getting the ball into the right areas. You know one of us will have our hero moment, and thankfully for me it was today.”
