Drop deep, cash in – why Kane can be England’s free-scoring false nine
Kane has just enjoyed the most prolific season of his club career. In 51 games for Bayern Munich, he scored 61 goals.It is a ridiculous tally for any striker, never mind one tasked with contributing to a side's build-up play as he has for Bayern over the season just completed. England fans will want to see this goal-happy version of Kane in the World Cup. But it is worth noting that he achieved his remarkable total playing in an increasingly free role, encouraged to drop as deep as his full-backs at times.And so Tuchel has decided that building the squad around this version of Kane makes the most sense.Bayern lacked a natural link player between their defence and attack for much of the season because of the injuries that plagued midfielder Jamal Musiala. Kane was asked to drop in to solve this problem."When Jamal's playing, it's a bit different. Getting the ball off defenders, driving… when we were playing together, it was better for him to go and do that," Kane said."This season, it's allowed me to play a little bit deeper, use my qualities in that sense of turning and playing it forward, then arriving later in the box."Kane executed the role brilliantly, possessing a remarkable passing quality from deep – helping find runners ahead of him in dangerous attacking positions.All of this helps explain why Kane's movements when dropping deep improve his side's general play.But how do we explain Kane's impressive scoring tally?As contradictory as it sounds, moving Kane away from the box during the build-up helped him arrive in better positions to finish.Both England and Bayern look to unlock teams through push-and-pull movements. The idea is to attract the opposition towards certain areas of the pitch before exploiting the space that opens up elsewhere.We have established that when Kane drops deep, teams push up, and there is space in behind for players to attack.Alternatively, when both England and Bayern get the ball up the pitch quickly, teams drop back, closer to their own goal, leaving space in front of the defence.This can be seen when a direct long pass is played, with teams looking to protect their goal and get back into a more defensive position.It is also done through running. A winger dribbling past their man down the line may force defensive teams closer to their goal, one of the reasons Tuchel has selected Anthony Gordon and Noni Madueke.When Tuchel's squad was announced there were questions raised around the exclusion of some big names – but in terms of getting the best out of Kane, it make more sense. The absences of Trent Alexander-Arnold, Cole Palmer and Adam Wharton appear to leave England without direct passing quality from deep. But John Stones' inclusion at centre-back, paired with Kane's role as a deep passer, makes up for this. A squad built on physical qualities – in height, running and intensity – could falter in the humidity and heat, but Tuchel has opted for pairings that match up in profile, giving England the chance to rotate often without losing the balance of their side.With Kane vacating the penalty area, surrounding him with runners who get into the box frequently, such as Gordon, Bellingham, Rice and O'Reilly, gives England more scoring options.England have used Kane in a fluid role before but they haven't always built the squad around him in the most balanced manner. The squad Tuchel has selected looks to have addressed those problems. The England boss will hope his side are as effective as Bayern have been in attack over the past season.
