England captain Harry Kane says criticism of his form has become “part and parcel” of every major tournament, but insists blaming a lack of fitness would be an “easy” excuse.
Kane will lead England out in a major tournament semi-final for the third time when the Three Lions meet the Netherlands in Dortmund on Wednesday night, with Gareth Southgate set to ignore calls from some quarters for the country’s all-time leading goalscorer to be dropped.
The former Tottenham striker has scored twice in five games so far at Euro 2024, including an extra-time winner in the last 16 against Slovakia, but his overall performances have been below par.
There have been suggestions that the Bayern Munich forward is still feeling the effects of the back injury that saw him miss the end of the club season, but Kane has repeatedly insisted he is over the issue.
“Maybe sometimes when I don’t score I think the fitness one is an easy one just to throw in now,” Kane said. “‘Why? Is there a reason? Is it his fitness? Is it not?’
“But like I said before the tournament, I felt like I had a good preparation going into it, I felt like I’m getting better and sharper as the games go along.
“Ultimately, it’s just down to me performing on the pitch. We have a semi-final ahead of us tomorrow and of course I’d love nothing more than to score a couple of goals and get through to the final.”
Kane’s tournament may yet follow a similar trajectory to the last European Championship three years ago, when after a sluggish group stage he came alive in the knockouts, scoring four times in three matches between the round of 16 and the semi-final.
The 30-year-old has spoken in the past about trying to peak at the back end of tournaments, having run out of steam at the 2018 World Cup in Russia, when he had the Golden Boot sewn up with five goals by the end of the group stage but scored just one penalty from that point on.
“It’s something I’ve got used to throughout my career,” Kane added. “Especially if you look over the last couple of major tournaments, there’s always been at some stage question marks over my fitness or my form. I think it is part and parcel of it.
“I always say I want to score in every game, I want to try and help the team in every game from that sense, but also my role isn’t just scoring goals. My role is a lot of work defensively, a lot of work without the ball, a lot of work in leadership.
“So, of course, everyone is entitled to their opinion, and I know everyone wants me to score three goals a game and I want to score three goals a game, but it’s not always the case.”