Joe Cole blames Tottenham for world finally appreciating Kane's genius at World Cup

Harry Kane rescued England from a shock World Cup defeat, scoring twice against DR Congo to take his tournament tally to five goals and spark a pointed debate about why the world took so long to appreciate him.

Speaking on the Rest is Football podcast, former England midfielder Joe Cole argued — tongue firmly in cheek — that Tottenham Hotspur deserve the blame for Kane’s long-delayed recognition. “That’s the problem with us [England], it ain’t till he’s gone to Germany and smashed it,” Cole said. “Germans have gone ‘wow’ — that he’s getting his flowers now because he’s been, arguably… I’m blaming Tottenham. I blame ‘em for most things, but we’ve not ever appreciated him until now and he’s standing on the shoulders of everyone.”

Kane, 32, sits just one goal behind Lionel Messi and Kylian Mbappé in the tournament’s scoring charts. The England captain’s current form follows a remarkable season at Bayern Munich in which he contributed 61 goals and seven assists across 51 appearances, performances that have seen him tipped as a Ballon d’Or contender.

The striker spent the formative years of his career at Spurs, scoring 280 goals and providing 63 assists in 435 appearances. Despite reaching the 2019 Champions League final, he left north London without a major trophy before joining Bayern in the summer of 2023.

Kane is now within touching distance of his best-ever World Cup return — the six goals he scored at Russia 2018 — but the striker was quick to spread the credit after the win over DR Congo. “It feels amazing to be honest. What a crazy game,” he said. “We went behind but after the first hydration break we upped the level and looked good. It was about keep pounding and our moment will come. We spoke about people having hero moments, whether it is me, a save from Pickford, a block from the defenders, whoever it is.”

England’s next assignment is a last-16 tie against Mexico at the Azteca Stadium, where they will face a side that has won all four of their group games without conceding, backed by a crowd of approximately 87,000 home supporters.