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BERLIN – Harry Kane and Memphis Depay have scored 111 international goals between them and enter Euro 2024 carrying the goalscoring burden for England and the Netherlands respectively. As the two nations prepare to battle it out in Dortmund on Wednesday for a place in the final, they will have done so despite, not thanks to, their star strikers.
Both England and the Netherlands have reached the semi-finals without playing to their full potential, despite having squads full of Champions League talent, and the team that wins may be the one that figures out how to get its most consistent goalscorer to score.
Kane is England’s all-time leading scorer, with 65 goals in 96 appearances, while Memphis is second only to former Arsenal and Manchester United striker Robin van Persie (50 in 102) for the Netherlands, having scored 46 goals in 97 appearances. But at Euro 2024, it has been a tale of misery for both. While they have found the net – Kane has scored twice for England (against Denmark and Slovakia) and Memphis has scored against Austria – their individual performances have been so poor that managers Gareth Southgate and Ronald Koeman must decide whether to uphold their long-standing records or act on what they saw in Germany.
The adage that “form is temporary and form is permanent” may be apt, but when the stakes are high, the present moment may be the most important criterion. “I think he’s done a fantastic job for the team,” Southgate said after Kane touched the ball just 27 times, without scoring, in England’s quarter-final penalty shootout win over Switzerland. “He may not be flowing, getting into those deep areas, but he’s still played a massive role in the group.”
“He leads the team fantastically. He has a huge positive influence in the camp. He guides the young players through everything the team had to deal with in the early stages of the tournament.”
Southgate could be accused of condemning Kane by offering faint praise in these comments. Nowhere does he mention Kane’s goalscoring threat, his movement or his contribution in the final third.
Since the start of Euro 2024, Kane has touched the penalty area just 23 times in 464 minutes. Both of his goals have come from inside the six-yard box, but Kane’s habit of dropping deep to look for the ball means he spends a lot of time outside the areas where he most needs it – a problem identified by former England striker and Premier League record goalscorer Alan Shearer.
“When the team is under pressure, he (Kane) tries to come back and help. He did that a few times (against Switzerland) and there was a stage where he ran 50 or 60 yards back. I admire him for that, but other people can do that,” Shearer told the ‘The Rest Is Football’ podcast.
“If I were him, I would say: ‘Just play in the 18-yard box’. He finds it difficult. I don’t know if there is something wrong with him, or if he has an injury or not, but he finds it difficult to have a big impact on the game.”
Although Shearer did not ask Southgate to drop Kane, others were less supportive of the England captain. Former England striker Steve McManaman told ESPN: “I think he (Kane) will start, but if I was Ivan Toney or Ollie Watkins I would be annoyed. But he (Southgate) will go with his tried and trusted method because he is used to that.”
Meanwhile, former Arsenal and England striker Ian Wright believes time is running out for Southgate to be bold with Kane.
“He’s not sharp, he’s not in the box and now we know Ivan Toney can get to that level and take a penalty,” Wright told The Overlap. “We need someone who’s going to be there, linking up, holding on and causing problems for defenders. At some point, we’re going to have to make that decision about what happens – we can’t just wait for Harry Kane to finish. At some point, we might run out of time on that.”
Memphis’ problems with the Netherlands are different to Kane’s with England. Despite his poor form, Kane has scored two goals from four opportunities and has an expected goals (xG) of 2.0 at Euro 2024. His problem is that he is often out of position, while Depay has had chances but failed to take them. The 30-year-old, who is now a free agent after his Atletico Madrid contract expired on June 30, has had 10 chances in Germany and scored just once, a performance that is noticeably below his expected goals (xG) of 1.96.
Former Netherlands striker Marco van Basten, the goal-scoring hero in his country’s 1988 European Championship triumph in Germany, believes Memphis is not designed to play the out-and-out striker role that Koeman has given him.
“He works very hard, but he is unlucky. You can see that this is not his best position. He is a creative footballer, but he is not a striker or a goalscorer. But I will keep him in the team,” Van Basten said.
Another former Dutch great, Wim van Hanegem, was more critical of Memphis, suggesting he needed to work harder for the team.
“Koeman has already said that he needs the best version of Memphis to go far in the European Championship and he is certainly right. All he has to do is chase defenders more aggressively, keep the ball and give the Dutch a point of contact up front,” Koeman said.
Memphis is also a divisive figure. Unlike Kane, who captains England and is seen as a very reliable team player, Memphis has spent his career with some of Europe’s top clubs, including Manchester United and Barcelona, where his behaviour has drawn questions from managers, teammates and fans alike.
In the Netherlands, there has been debate about whether Memphis should be dropped in favour of Wout Weghorst – a player with a largely limited potential but a proven record of scoring important goals. Weghorst has only scored once in this tournament so far, but the former Manchester United striker is highly respected among his team-mates.
“With Weghorst, you create more chaos in the box, and opponents have to defend more, so I think Wout has helped a lot,” said defender Nathan Ake after the 6ft 6in forward came on as a substitute in the Netherlands’ 2-1 quarter-final win over Turkey. “He’s a nightmare to play against. He’s strong, he’s a nuisance in the box and he fights for everything. He runs like a dog, so he’s a big asset for us.”
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Laurens: England have ‘individual brilliance’
Gabe Marcotti and Julian Laurens preview the match between England and the Netherlands in the semi-final of Euro 2024.
But the chances of Memphis being dropped in favour of Weghorst are slim. Even after Weghorst scored a late winner in the opening group game against Poland, Koeman said he was honest with the 31-year-old and told him he would be more useful as a substitute. Despite the doubts about Memphis being the focal point of his team, Koeman believes he remains the best option.
“Memphis is very valuable for the team. He plays very well. This team needs him very much and he has to pass the ball to him. He has had a lot of injuries and of course he has to play better, that is clear to all of us. But I feel a positive vibe because he is a very good player. You want to help and support the players, but Memphis is not lacking confidence. He is sure he can score,” Koeman said.
Confidence has not been an issue for Memphis throughout his career. He turned up for a reserve game against Manchester United in a Rolls-Royce and a cowboy hat, having been dropped by manager Louis van Gaal. He is well aware of his critics at Euro 2024, but is unlikely to be swayed by them before the England game.
“I don’t think it should be about the numbers. It’s about the moments. But I can handle criticism well, I’m used to it,” he said before the 2-1 win over Turkey.
Either Kane or Memphis will walk out of Berlin’s Olympic Stadium on Sunday one game away from winning the European Championship, and it could be because of just the two of them. Both have the ability to score the goals that will take their countries to the Euro 2024 final, but the tournament awaits them.
If either of them can do it in Dortmund on Wednesday, all that happened at Euro 2024 will be forgotten. And for the team that fails to qualify, it will be a tournament filled with regrets about what might have been.
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