England captain Harry Kane enters the 2026 FIFA World Cup in North America following a career-best club season with Bayern Munich, sparking tactical discussions and endorsements for the Ballon d'Or award.
The 32-year-old striker accumulated 61 goals and seven assists across 51 appearances in the 2025-26 campaign, helping the German club secure a domestic double and reach the Champions League semifinals.
Deeper Role Under Tuchel
Kane often dropped deep into midfield during the club season to assist in build-up play, a tactical role that England manager Thomas Tuchel intends to replicate during the international tournament.
The positional adjustment allowed Kane to operate effectively while dealing with injuries to Bayern teammate Jamal Musiala.
"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.
The system at Bayern created space for high-energy wingers to exploit the central areas vacated by the striker.
"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 added.
Ballon d'Or Favorites
Kane has publicly acknowledged his standing in the race for the annual global football prize, stating that he believes he is definitely among the favorites.
Bayern Munich President Herbert Hainer backed the striker: "I liked how Harry Kane spoke confidently about the Ballon d'Or.
Based on his performances and his entire personality, he absolutely deserves it."
Former England and Tottenham player Chris Waddle defended Kane's tendency to drop deep amid public debates regarding his positioning for the national team.
"He's done it at Tottenham as well. It's the way he plays," Waddle said.
Waddle noted that Kane relies heavily on mental quickness and tactical intelligence rather than physical speed to outmaneuver opposing defenders.
"Harry's a very good player. He's never relied on speed.
He's relied on speed of thought. Normally a striker is very, very quick or very powerful, good in the air.
Harry's different. He's sort of a nine/10, but he gets a lot of success through it," Waddle explained.
Opposing defensive units frequently face dilemmas when tracking Kane's movements away from the penalty box.
"You can probably think, 'I've marked him, I've got him'. His movement's very good in the box.
It's not like he sprints around. You never see Harry do anything quick.
He reads the game well," Waddle said.
The pundit highlighted Kane's adaptability, having observed him executing the advanced playmaker role successfully in the Bundesliga.
"I've seen him play as a 10 for Bayern this season, and he played very, very well as a 10.
You could actually play him as a 10 and put a number nine, Ollie Watkins, up front if you want - Marcus Rashford.
He can play that 10 very, very well. I've seen him play that," Waddle added.
Despite criticism over his deep positioning, Kane has maintained a high scoring output for both club and country over several seasons.
"I think it's hard to argue about saying, 'yes, he scores goals in the box', but he's been scoring for five years now.
He's just never stopped scoring goals, let's be honest. He's doing something right," Waddle said.
Waddle concluded that the forward should maintain his current style of play ahead of England's World Cup campaign.
"We all say, 'we don't want you to come back into midfield, we don't want you to do this', but that's part of his locker and it's part of how he gets his goals, believe it or not.
I'd just say, what Harry Kane's doing at the minute in the last two, three, four seasons, just keep doing what you're doing, mate, because your goal record per game is absolutely phenomenal," Waddle said.
England enters the tournament seeking its first major international trophy in 60 years.
