Harry Kane: Time to end the ‘spursy’ curse

England fans will remember the scene all too well. Harry Kane went about his penalty routine in the usual way, as he adjusted his socks, repositioned the ball on the edge of the spot and took seven steps back before first looking into the eyes of France goalkeeper Hugo Lloris, and then at the ball. There following his trademark staccato run-up, the slight crouch, the opened hips, and a clean strike.

But instead of nestling in the net, the ball soared off his foot, clipping the top of the crossbar before sailing into the stands behind the goal. The Three Lions went on to lose 2-1, and fell out of the 2022 World Cup at the quarter-final stage when many thought this might just be their time.

And so continued the curse of Kane. The England captain, for all of his brilliance, is yet to win a trophy in his career. He has come close -heartbreakingly so - on several occasions for club and country, but that elusive winners’ medal has not yet been placed around his neck.


Having joined Bayern Munich last summer, many believed it was a foregone conclusion that Kane’s curse would be broken in 2024. But it hasn’t been that simple. The Bavarians s i t second in the Bundesliga table, are out of the DFB-Pokal and face an uphill task to win the Champions League if their recent performance-level doesn’t improve.

Not much of that can be pinned on Kane, who is on pace to break the Bundesliga single-season record for goals scored while enjoying the most prolific campaign of his career. On Saturday, he will get another chance to add to his tally when Bayern travel to face unbeaten league-leaders Bayer Leverkusen in a fixture that will go a long way to deciding who wins the German title.

The top-of-the-table encounter offers Kane another opportunity to exorcise his big-game demons - and take a huge step towards finally having a team trophy to place alongside all the individual awards in his trophy cabinet.