Euro 2016: What went wrong for England against Iceland?

4. Will the real Harry Kane please stand up?

Harry Kane could not bring his club form to the Euros in France.

The Premier League’s top goal scorer for the 2015-16 season was not just out of form, but painful to watch on screen. In a tournament where he will be remembered for his infamous corner-kick against Russia, Kane, at best resembled a defender pushed up front to provide some physical presence and number in the attacking third. The Tottenham striker looked well short of his usual goal scoring self throughout the tournament and summed up England’s performance with a pretty diabolical (Ronaldo-esque) free kick midway through the second half. How much Tottenham’s collapse at the end of the season or fatigue affected him mentally, only he would know. But his performances echo the frustration of Vardy’s absence from the starting eleven. Vardy, a newly crowned champion and in blistering form found himself limited to cameo roles with the exception of the game against Slovakia. In what was a disgraceful exit, Kane stands out as one of the duds of the tournament.

An early exit is becoming somewhat of a tradition, one that English football fans aren’t proud of. The loss to Iceland seems to be a nadir in terms of sporting losses, bringing back memories of the 1-0 loss to the USA in 1950 World Cup. One can only imagine why a bunch of talented players cannot put together the same performance that they do for their respective clubs. With the World Cup in Russia just two years away, England need to find the right manager who can bring the best out of these players in a short duration.