Harry Kane scored twice in England's 2-1 win over DR Congo at the World Cup on Wednesday, with the Bayern Munich striker saving the Three Lions' bacon in the process
11:44, 02 Jul 2026
Didi Hamman has been made to regret his comments
Didi Hamman has been made to regret his comments(Image: RTE Sport)
Liverpool legend Didi Hamann has performed a U-turn on Harry Kane following the Bayern Munich forward's heroics in rescuing England at the World Cup.
The Three Lions faced potential catastrophe after falling behind to Brian Cipenga's seventh-minute goal, before Kane delivered a crucial late double to secure a last-16 clash with Mexico. The brace brought his overall World Cup total to 13 goals, with five netted in this competition. He had previously surpassed Gary Lineker to establish himself as England's record goalscorer at the tournament.
Yet among the widespread acclaim, Hamann remained skeptical of the ex-Tottenham forward's credentials on soccer's grandest stage, arguing that his statistics were misleading and that he'd failed to deliver in crucial matches against international opposition.
Speaking on Irish broadcaster RTE during the group phase, the former Liverpool and Manchester City midfielder stated: "I think he's scored eight goals in the group stages – two against Tunisia, three against Panama, and a penalty against Colombia.
"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 against France and Brazil. Whether he's capable of doing it, we don't know yet."
Those observations drew considerable backlash and mockery. However, after his match-winning display against DR Congo, Hamann heaped praise upon Kane, who is now competing with Lionel Messi, Erling Haaland, and Kylian Mbappe for the Golden Boot.
Harry Kane got England out of jail against DR Congo
Harry Kane got England out of jail against DR Congo(Image: Getty Images)
Hamann called the 32-year-old "phenomenal" while speaking on RTE. Addressing his fellow pundits, he remarked: "I think we played with some of the best strikers in the world. I'm not sure whether there has ever been a striker like him, who finishes like he does.
"His shooting technique, both feet, not only the right foot, he does it with the left as well.
"It's simply outstanding, and if you give him half a yard in the box, even with five minutes to go, when he's a bit tired, when he has got 85 minutes in his legs, he still picks his spot, and he puts it exactly where he wants. Outstanding."
Kane humbly credited his teammates after England's comeback triumph, stating: "I'm proud of the group, proud of the boys. We spoke before the game about how difficult this game would be.
"You're coming up against a good team who defend and watch really well. They were dangerous in the counter-attack, as we saw in that first 20 minutes of the game.
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"So we had to just grind a win out, and I thought we played some really good stuff after 25 minutes of the game.
"Their keeper made some incredible saves, to be fair to him, and you start to think maybe it's just one of those days.
"But that's where I'm most proud of the boys and myself as well, just to keep the belief, keep getting the ball into the right areas. You know one of us will have our hero moment, and thankfully for me, it was today."