The Harry Kane conundrum: Should Gareth Southgate do what Sir Alf Ramsey did to Jimmy Greaves and leave England's star striker out? Asks OLIVER HOLT

A week ago, after England’s dramatic extra-time win over Slovakia, Gareth Southgate talked about giving a presentation to his players about the 1966 World Cup, which stressed how the path to glory does not always run smooth.

‘We just wanted to highlight that tournaments take you in strange places and difficult routes,’ said Southgate. He made a point of mentioning how ‘some of the players you think are going to be in, like a Jimmy Greaves, end up playing a different role.’

Greaves certainly did end up playing a different role. The man who is still the greatest striker in the history of the English top flight was the subject of a brutal tackle in England’s final group game against France that opened a gash in his shin which required 14 stitches.

Geoff Hurst replaced him for the quarter-final against Argentina and even though Greaves was fit again for the semi-final against Portugal, manager Sir Alf Ramsey stuck with Hurst. Hurst scored a hat-trick in the final and Greaves, who watched from the bench, admitted he was the ‘loneliest man at Wembley’.

When Southgate made that presentation, he may not have realised quite how pertinent it would become. Because, as England prepare for their Euro 2024 semi-final against the Netherlands in Dortmund on Wednesday, he has a selection dilemma of his own.

The quandary facing the England boss is: does he make Harry Kane his Jimmy Greaves?

Kane is the greatest England striker of his day, as Greaves was in 1966. The idea of leaving him out of a competitive international has always been unthinkable.

Even when he is not at his best, Kane plays such a critical role in creating goals as well as scoring them that he should always be the first name on Southgate’s England team sheet.

Even here in Germany, when he has been under par and looking considerably short of fitness, he scored England’s only goal against Denmark and the extra-time winner against Slovakia in the last 16.

But he has been a long way from his best. It has seemed likely he is still struggling with the back injury that forced Thomas Tuchel to substitute him during Bayern Munich’s Champions League semi-final defeat by Real Madrid in May.

Kane missed Bayern’s last two Bundesliga games of the season too. ‘He had a complete blockade in his back,’ said Tuchel. The Bayern boss added that Kane was already ‘at his limit’ before the match against Madrid.

Maybe Kane has recovered from the injury but the evidence of his performances in this tournament suggests otherwise. On Saturday, he looked like half a player. He worked as hard as he could but offered close to zero in terms of a goal threat.

‘I thought he did a super job for the team defensively, in terms of his positioning and his understanding of where he needed to be,’ Southgate said after England’s penalty shootout victory. ‘He is still playing an immense part for the group.’

Southgate is good at putting a brave face on things but it was a big ask on Saturday. Privately, he must have been deeply concerned by Kane’s display.

Maps that showed the average position occupied by England’s players against Switzerland showed that Kane had not only played deeper than his fellow forwards but that he had played deeper than the entire England midfield.

Kane likes to drop deep and he is incredibly effective at it. But this felt different. This looked like a supreme striker who was struggling to function further up the pitch.

Some have made comparisons with the way Portugal carried Cristiano Ronaldo and the way England seem to be carrying Kane, particularly against Switzerland. No one can afford a passenger in tournament football. Portugal found that out as they went out on penalties to France on Friday.

It is not as if England are short of options, either. Ivan Toney, the closest thing there is to Kane in English football, has already shown in the limited minutes he has had in Germany that he can thrive on the biggest stage.

He is fresh after spending so much of the domestic season on the sidelines and he plays with a point to prove and the kind of innate confidence that cannot be taught. His no-look penalty in the shootout against the Swiss was a masterclass in nerve.

Playing either Toney or Ollie Watkins against the Netherlands, using their pace to press and stretch the Dutch defence, would also create more space for Phil Foden and Jude Bellingham in the pockets behind the front man. Kane’s immobility is clogging up that space.

The truth is, England’s captain looks like he is desperately in need of a rest. He has precious little recovery time between the Switzerland game and the match against the Netherlands.

In that context, it felt symbolic when an exhausted Kane was barged off the pitch by an opponent four minutes into the second half of extra time at the Dusseldorf Arena and staggered towards Southgate. 

Southgate tried to catch him, to protect him, but Kane’s momentum took him beyond the manager’s arms. He fell over an ice bucket and seemed to be gripped by cramp, unable to rise.

So Southgate faces his Greaves moment. Sometimes, the biggest tests require the toughest decisions. The manager’s presentation on the 1966 World Cup talked about the importance of the squad and unexpected twists that affect even the most exalted players.

Perhaps now is the time to heed his own homily and ask Kane to take a step back.