Teddy Sheringham: “Harry has that aura about him”

Teddy Sheringham knows a thing or two about taking a penalty – and he noticed ‘an aura’ about Harry Kane as he struck home two spot-kicks on his way to a hat-trick in England’s 6-1 win against Panama in the World Cup.

Our legendary former striker and skipper Teddy, now 52, has watched Harry’s progress closely over the last four years and was particularly struck by the calmness he showed from 12 yards in such a high-pressure situation.

Harry, 24, planted both penalties into the top corner as England raced into a 5-0 lead by half-time in their second match in Group G.

It meant he became only the third Englishman to score a hat-trick at the World Cup after Sir Geoff Hurst (1966) and Gary Lineker (1986). It takes his tally to 18 goals in 26 caps and 11 in seven as captain.

Teddy, 10th in our all-time goalscoring list with 124 goals in 277 appearances, played in three major tournaments for England including the 1998 and 2002 World Cups.

“Harry had that aura about him when he scored the penalties,” said Teddy. “He’s got a penalty, he knows it’s a chance to score a goal and he’s making sure of it.

“He’s putting the ball exactly where he wants it, at pace. That’s not just putting it anywhere, he’s putting it exactly where he wants. You have to take your hat off to him.

“The pressure’s on but he’s relaxed, he’s in his own world, taking his time, breathing nicely and he’s saying to himself ‘I practised this who knows how many times and I’m going to put it where I want to put it, with pace’.

“If the goalkeeper does go the right way, there is enough pace on it to beat him. It’s fantastic. Then the luck runs with him and he gets his hat-trick. As a striker, you take that - when you look at the stats later in life, people just rack up the numbers.”