Gary Lineker suggests England skipper Harry Kane could quit international football to stop ‘horrible feeling’
Harry Kane could be considering his England future after he struggled to make an impact at Euro 2024.
That's the view of Three Lions icon Gary Lineker, who has claimed the 30-year-old looked 'leggy' as England lost to Spain in Sunday's final in Berlin.
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With three goals in Germany, Kane is one of six players that have shared the Golden Boot, but in truth, he looked a different striker to the one that banged in 44 times for Bayern Munich last season.
And Lineker, who retired from international football at the age of 32 after Euro 1992, has questioned whether Kane could be suffering like he did.
The England skipper was hooked after 61 minutes against Spain for Ollie Watkins having had just 13 touches of the ball - with only one coming inside the box - while mustering just one shot on goal and completing five passes.
Speaking on , Lineker said: "Part of [looking to] the future in my mind was what England do, what does Harry Kane do?
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"He was not himself in this tournament. He's in his 30s now. When I was 30, 31, my legs started to go.
"I retired from international football at 32 because I knew at 31 that was happening [legs going] and it's horrible, it's horrible.
"It might not be the case [for Kane], but he looked a bit leggy in this tournament."
On Kane's displays at Euro 2024, Lineker added: "He's struggled a little bit, he's not managed to get behind defenders at all, I know it's never really been his game to run behind, but you've seen it to a degree on his career."
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As for Alan Shearer, who retired from England at the age of 30 following Euro 2000, he insisted Gareth Southgate was right to keep his faith in Kane despite his uncharacteristically quite displays.
He remarked: "You had to play him. There was not one moment during this competition that I ever thought he should be left out.
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"But what I would say is, and this is not in hindsight because I said it before and during the tournament, but if you're going to play him, you have to have legs.
"There's no way you can ever drop your captain or your record goalscorer and a guy who's on three goals without playing particularly well, it's impossible.
"You couldn't do it, and I wouldn't do it, I'd have kept him in the team, but I would have had more legs in and around him to run past him.
"He's a great goalscorer and always will be, look at the season he had! But he didn't look right."
Comparing Kane's displays to his own at Euro 1992, Lineker than stated: "I will compare it [Kane's performances] a little bit to my final tournament.
"I felt during that last season, which is one of the reasons I decided to retire from international football, to finish in English football, to move to Japan.
"I could feel my legs going. I was poor in that last [major tournament, Euro 92].
"I was made a bit of a martyr because Graham Taylor brought me off, but he had every right to bring me off because I was passed my best. It happens to some people at some point.
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"Maybe he was just tired or carrying a little something that affected him and that [his legs going] might not be the case.
"But I wonder. What is he, coming up to 31 now? That's exactly the time when I started to feel that way."
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