FIFA may change football rules because of Harry Kane. What’s the story?
Steven Perez
Dailysports's expert
The opening match for England at the 2026 World Cup ended in a dazzling 4-2 victory over Croatia, but it sparked a major refereeing and tactical controversy.
Details: FIFA is being urged to ban a controversial penalty-taking technique used by England captain Harry Kane. In the 12th minute, the striker missed his first shot—Dominik Livaković saved it—but the referees ordered a retake because the goalkeeper stepped off his line. On his second attempt, Kane found the net, but his stop-and-go run-up infuriated many. Notably, former Milan star Kevin-Prince Boateng told CBS that such psychological games against goalkeepers should be outlawed.
Harry Kane himself admitted after the match that his actions were a calculated psychological move. According to the striker, he had thoroughly studied Livaković’s tendencies before the game and knew the Croatian keeper was prone to moving early.
"I knew that if I hesitated in my run-up, he would definitely step off the line. I was 80% sure of it," the attacking leader told BBC Sport.
Kane added that his pre-match analysis worked perfectly, and after the win he was quick to give huge respect to Thomas Tuchel. The forward emphasized that it was the German coach’s passionate halftime speech that pushed the team to unleash maximum pressing—something the Croatians simply couldn’t handle.
Reminder: England head coach Thomas Tuchel made an emotional plea to FIFA after the match against Croatia.
