16 June 2024 , 21:57
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Gary Lineker wasn't concerned by Harry Kane's performance in England's win over Serbia.
The England captain was anonymous in the opening half as the Three Lions earned three points and enjoyed just one shot over the course of 90 minutes. Kane was denied by a very smart save from Predrag Rajkovic, when he headed goalwards from Jarrod Bowen's cross.
While Kane was left to come deep and battle to retain possession as Serbia came into the game in the second period, his first half outing was more difficult to immediately explain.
The Bayern Munich star is known to search for the ball and to make use of his skills from a deeper position but in the Euro 2024 opener, he instead stayed high up the pitch.
That element was a reassuring point for Lineker at half time, with the BBC Euro 2024 presenter explaining Kane's role.
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"Harry Kane isn't necessarily sacrificing himself for the team in terms of the fact he can still get in the box and score goals," he said. "He won't be worried at all.
"He is playing his part, he's not dropping deep like we've seen from him in the past, he's keeping Serbia deep to make that space for the creative players behind him. He won't care about general touches, just those he can make to put the ball in the back of the net.
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Kane reflected on the match following the game. The 30-year-old forward suggested that the Three Lions new they were in for a difficult night.
Harry Kane struggled against Serbia (Getty Images)"We knew it was going to be a tough game, Serbia pose a lot of threats and have some good players," Kane explained. "They will make it a battle for you and I think we dealt with it really well. There was a spell in the second half where we got camped in our box and we found it hard to get out but it was an important win tonight.
"It's a tough game. They are a tough team and have good players. We stood up to it well and it is good to get the three points and [for us] to progress. It's good that we got the win today."