Former Liverpool and Germany midfielder Didi Hamann has caused a real stir with his comments about Harry Kane following England’s victory over Croatia at the 2026 World Cup.
Kane, who had an outstanding 2025/26 season with Bayern Munich which saw him record 68 goal contributions (61 goals and seven assists) in just 51 games, was named in England’s starting XI for their opening match of the tournament.
England’s captain, who is one of the favourites to win the Ballon d’Or this year, put in another outstanding performance as the Three Lions picked up all three points. Kane scored his side’s first two goals as England won 4-2 at Dallas Stadium in Arlington, Texas.
Didi Hamann Questions Harry Kane After England 4-2 Croatia
Kane has, rightfully so, received many plaudits for his performance against Croatia. Not everyone has been gushing over the 32-year-old, though.
Hamann was covering the match as a pundit for RTE. Following the game, he said ‘the jury is still out’ about England’s captain as he questioned his effectiveness in big matches.
He said: “He’s scored eight in the group games. He’s got two against Tunisia, three against Panama, penalty against Colombia in the round of 16.
“Out of 10 goals he’s got seven or eight in the group stage. He’s playing in his third World Cup now. He’s the captain and he’s there to score goals in the knockout games.
“The jury’s out. I want to see him do it in the last 16 against France, in the last eight against Brazil. Whether he’s capable of doing it, we don’t know. He hasn’t done it so far.”
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He added: “When I see him move sometimes, obviously he scores a lot of goals, then again in Munich every centre-forward has scored goals. It doesn’t matter if he scores 35 or 25, they’re going to win the league, usually.
‘”In the Champions League this is where he scored this season against Paris [PSG]. Then again, when I watch the level of Paris and watch his level, I’m not sure. I think there’s a few centre-forwards in this tournament I’d probably rather have in my team than him.
“In tournament football you score on the counter-attack. He won’t score on the counter-attack. Because when you play against the best teams sometimes you have to sit back and then go 50-60 yards to score a goal. If [Noni] Madueke takes off, if [Anthony] Gordon or [Marcus] Rashford take off, he won’t be able to keep up with him.
“I’m sitting on the fence for now, I’ve got my doubts about him. Whether he’s the player that’s taking England to the World Cup. At some stage in the tournament you need pace and he simply hasn’t got it.”
He continued: “His finishing is probably the best in the tournament, the best in the world. Left foot, right foot, give him half a chance and he’ll score. But does he get in these positions against Germany, against Brazil, against France? I’m not too sure.”
Hamann’s comments have not gone down well on social media. One fan said: “Surely up there one of the stupidest things anyone has uttered,” while a second wrote: “This is the most ridiculous statement I have heard in a while.”
A third stated: “This is one of the worst 2 minutes of punditry I’ve ever seen in my life,” while a fourth added: “Bloke’s a clown.”
Kane and England are next in action on Tuesday, June 23 when they take on Ghana at Boston Stadium. The African side also won their opening match of the tournament as they beat Panama 1-0.
