FIFA World Cup 2018: The much-maligned Mr Kane is just plain, hungry Harry

To his neighbours in the Essex suburbs, Harry Kane can come across as 'the nice boy next door'. For a teetotaler who always has a "cuppa with milk and two sugar cubes" to finish the night, the perfect off-day is to spend time with his pregnant fiancée Kate, who was his 'first kiss' at 14, and daughter Ivy.

And oh, on match days, he just likes to claim his teammates' goals.
"Harry Kane to claim Danny Welbeck's goal because the ball touched his feelings," were among several potshots aimed at the England captain on Twitter after he was awarded Spurs sidekick Christian Eriksen's goal to leap over a hurdle in the 'EPL Golden Boot' race.
Even Gary Lineker couldn't resist a laugh: "Mandzukic goal now being given to Harry Kane."
Etcetera, etcetera, etcetera...
The 24-year-old's desire to notch up the goal tally may raise laughter all around - some call it greed - but, perhaps, this can be a quality on the football field. After all, this is not a morality play.

For his 'lucky' hat-trick against Panama, Kane had Ruben Loftus-Cheek to thank, as the Chelsea man's long-range shot deflected off his heel and wrong-footed goalkeeper Jaime Penedo. This time he didn't have to claim it, it was given.

Lineker, a former Tottenham striker himself, won the Golden Boot in the 1986 World Cup, although England were famously felled by Maradona's feet and left hand in the quarters. Despite his social media bullet, the effusive Lineker could be secretly admiring Kane's need to be the king. "I always want to win the top goal scorer award, every season. If you've not got that absolute desire, you won't."
Those are not Harry's words, but Gary's.
If Gareth Southgate's England do reach the last eight, their job will be done. And Kane again must play a pivotal role in the Round of 16.
Kane has been dreaming about lifting the World Cup at the Luzhniki much before the tournament started. And although he could be mocked for having delusions of grandeur with a team flying under the radar, in the shadow of giants, perhaps one should dare to dream.
"I believe we can win it, anyone can," Kane had said. "I want to win everything I do, it's my mindset. There are some really good teams but it's worth fighting for."

If you give everything as a team, you can push barriers and Kane will take all the luck in this world to remain that fox in the box. Statistics will tell you that Kane has scored with all five of his shots on target. Critics and so-called fans will tell you that includes two penalties and the fortunate deflection.
Before the World Cup, the supporters were up in arms against Kane for his comments on the English mentality. "We're a bit afraid to say we want to win, because we're afraid of the reaction. But we have to be brave."
He is certainly not guarded when it comes to expressing himself, some may even call it dumb.
But remember at the turn of the year, before Mo Salah caught our imagination and our hearts, Spurs' lethal weapon had shot 56 goals in 52 appearances for club and England in 2017, outgunning Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo, to head the top-scorer's list. He had also ensured an EPL record for goals in a calendar year, his 39 surpassing Alan Shearer's 36 in 1995.
"Dad always worked long hours and taught me to do the same. Hard work's been my motto. I've had to graft to get where I am now," the man who fashions himself on Cristiano recently told an English daily.
So far, so good.
And if the Dexter-loving striker's serial scoring continues, he may still emulate Lineker. But there's no danger of him turning into a 'Spice Boy'. He will still drive his grey Range Rover, and his perfect evening will remain "watching golf and chilling with his family and two Labradors".