There are players you miss when they are out, and then there are players whose absence basically breaks everything. Harry Kane falls very firmly into the second category for England, and anyone who has watched the Three Lions try to function without him knows exactly what that looks like. It is not pretty.
Kane has been in genuinely brilliant form for Bayern Munich, continuing to do what he does best — score goals, hold the ball up, drag defenders into terrible positions, and generally be a nightmare to play against. The numbers are absurd, and the performances to back them up have been consistent week after week. This is not a hot streak. This is a man operating at the peak of his powers.
So the Ballon d'Or conversation is not as far-fetched as it might have seemed a couple of years ago. Kane has always been respected, always been rated, but he has sometimes been viewed as slightly second tier compared to the Mbappés and Vinicius Juniors of the world. That gap is closing, possibly faster than people realise. What he still needs is a tournament to stamp his name on, and the World Cup would be the biggest possible stage to do exactly that.
England have genuine quality throughout the squad now, which actually helps Kane more than people give credit for. When teams have to respect the players around him, he gets better service and more space to work with. If England can organise properly and get the best out of their attacking options, Kane could absolutely run riot.
The honest take is that Kane has been one of the best strikers in world football for several years now, and he deserves every bit of the recognition coming his way. Whether the World Cup finally delivers that defining moment on the biggest stage remains to be seen, but the signs are very encouraging. As a United fan, it almost physically hurts to say any of this about a Spurs legend, but fair is fair — the man is genuinely world class.
Let me know your thoughts.