The bitter painful torment of Harry Kane
The Personified England: Harry Kane Remains the Incomplete One, as He Once Again Wins No Title. The Striker of FC Bayern Had Only 11 Ball Contacts and Declares, "The Pain Will Still Last Long." About a Suffering That Never Ends.
Harry Kane limps disappointedly over the field. To the midfield. This often happens in the European Championship final. However, this is the last sad journey of the FC Bayern Munich striker. For the game is over, England has lost to Spain, and Kane watches his teammates from the bench.
Empty gaze. Emotionless. Disbelieving. The captain of the English national team has still not won a single title on club or national team level. The suffering seems never-ending. In his bitterest moment, he shows greatness and comforts the distraught Jude Bellingham, who is alone and desperate on the grass before the EM Cup passes by, without acknowledging him a glance. Kane remains the Incomplete One. A tragic hero, who now returns to FC Bayern as a battered dog.
"It's not easy to reach these finals. You have to take it when it comes, and we've never managed to do that. It's extremely painful and will last a long time," says a dejected Kane after the 1:2 (0:0) in Berlin. The late knockout blow in the 86th minute was "really hard to take," he explains, and speaks of a "missed opportunity": "It's difficult to express what we're all feeling right now."
"The Curse of Harry Kane"
What chances has Kane missed? Perhaps the triumph in the Premier League with Tottenham Hotspur, for instance. Also, the Champions League final was lost with his former club narrowly against Liverpool. And at the EURO 2021, it was the bitter defeat in the penalty shootout against Italy. Exactly three years and three days before the tragic loss against Spain.
The Englishman joined Bayern Munich in the summer to finally win a title in professional football. And what do the Munichers do? They fail to win anything for the first time since 2012. The super striker, in his first year in Germany, performed exactly as he wanted. He might have been the best central striker on the planet in the previous season. That's why the Italian newspaper "Tuttosport" writes about the "Curse of Harry Kane" after the final defeat against Spain.
However, the striker is even the Golden Boot winner (just like five others, he scored three goals) at the EURO, but overall, he disappoints in the tournament. "It was hard on his body. He came into the tournament with too few games and hasn't quite reached the level we all hoped for," says his coach Gareth Southgate. A long-term back injury had kept Kane out of action for FC Bayern in the last weeks of the Bundesliga season, and he was still suffering from it at the EURO. English journalists were already skeptical at the end of the group stage whether Kane could help the team in his current form.
Prayers Don't Help Kane Either
Perhaps that's why the Bayern striker experiences a game of horror before the defeat, before the pain. That it would be harder against Spain to win a title than with FC Bayern was clear: Since the UEFA Champions League Final 2002, Spanish teams and the Spanish national team have played in 23 major finals (Champions League, UEFA Cup, Europa League, World Cup, European Championship) against non-Spanish teams and have won the cup in all 23 cases.
## "Difficult Night once again for Harry Kane"
In the first half, the Number 9 runs unsuccessfully past the Spanish defenders. In the 25th minute, he has his first scenes: After initiating his first attack from the midfield a moment earlier, Kane sees the yellow card for the second time due to a foul on Fabián Ruiz. He kicks open-heeled at Ruiz's shin and is lucky not to hit him higher. English fans in the Berlin Olympic Stadium respond with "God Save the King" - but do they mean their striker with the song?
At halftime, the BBC reports in the live ticker a fan quote that says: "I don't want to criticize him, but Harry Kane just doesn't look good! How much longer does Gareth [Southgate] give him?" The "Guardian" writes the same at the same time: "Another difficult night for Harry Kane."
Of course, he receives few crosses and passes into the penalty area, but especially during Spanish offensive efforts in the second half, from which the 0:1 also resulted, Kane noticeably engages little around the midfield. At least he urges his teammates on after the first goal.
Kane - the embodiment of England
Shortly thereafter, it's already over for him. In the 61st minute, he makes way for Ollie Watkins and can do nothing more about his own pain and the agony of the Three Lions. On the bench, he sees his teammates' best chance in the second half: Jude Bellingham turns around Carvajal and his own axis, but his shot from 18 meters misses the left post.
Then Cole Palmer scores the surprising equalizer: Kane jumps up, applauds. He would probably prefer to be substituted back in to save the result somehow. Best in the penalty shootout, where he belongs to the most reliable shooters. But that doesn't happen. And the tragedy unfolds. Kane sits on the bench and cannot help when the late Spanish winning goal from Mikel Oyarzabal is scored. He looks surprised. Until the final whistle blows.
Harry Kane has often experienced so much pain despite his many goals and victories. The last step, he just can't make. Harry Kane remains the Incomplete One. The embodiment of England. Often up there, but not quite at the goal. The pain seems to never end.
Despite having 11 ball contacts during the EURO 2024 final, Harry Kane lamented, "The pain will still last long." Despite being the Golden Boot winner along with others, Kane struggled in the tournament, prompting concerns from English journalists about his form during the group stage. [FC Barcelona Munich's] Kane, who joined Bayern Munich in the summer, was unfortunate to see the team fail to win any title since 2012, adding to his title drought. [England's] Kane, often hailed as the embodiment of England, has consistently performed well but has yet to seal a title, with his struggle to win a major trophy continuing.
