Is Harry Kane England’s ‘quarterback’?

There is no broader sports metaphor than calling a player the “quarterback” of their team. It can mean culturally, with the quarterback the face of his franchise and a non-negotiable for winning. Or it can mean tactically, with the quarterback having his hands on the ball at all times, pulling the tactical strings for the coach’s game plan.

So when former Premier League coach Thomas Frank compared striker Harry Kane to a “quarterback” after his performance in England’s 4-2 win over Croatia to open their World Cup campaign, what did he mean?

Kane scored twice on Wednesday, but that undersold his impact on England’s performance. He had 35 touches, played six passes in the final third and put three shots on target. The Bayern Munich forward is far more than just a striker who is also England’s joint all-time leading scorer at the men’s World Cup.

“Harry Kane, clearly, compared to the Euros (2024 European Championship) two years ago, he is fit. And he is coming in in a fantastic place. The way he pressed, the way he was all over the pitch was interesting,” Frank told BBC Radio 5Live. “Right now he’s playing No. 6, No. 10, No. 9. He’s playing (like a) No. 6 as (Andrea) Pirlo, so he’s a quarterback as Pirlo. He’s playing as a 6, 10, he’s defining like other players. Then as himself as a 9. That’s a pretty good combination.”

In soccer parlance, the No. 9 role is a forward (where Kane plays), while the No. 10 is a creative player finding pockets of space (think Lionel Messi) and the No. 6 is a holding midfielder who picks up the ball deep and plays progressive passes forward. Pirlo is regarded among the all-time greats in that role, leading Italy to the World Cup in 2006.

If Kane is all three, does that make him a quarterback?

That depends.

“It’s unusual for a striker to be in the middle of the field like Harry Kane did (against Croatia),” said former United States men’s national team coach Dave Sarachan, now an assistant for the San Jose Earthquakes. “You could liken it to a quarterback because you have to see everything. You have to have two or three plays in your head as options.”

Frank’s point was Kane is actually playing multiple positions in the England attack. That’s not what Patrick Mahomes or Matthew Stafford do. But like Kane, those quarterbacks have to understand every other position on the field to make their offenses function. For Kane, that means knowing how winger Noni Madueke will break down the right flank or how Jude Bellingham will play in support, as my colleague Michael Cox explained.

Not every No. 9 can do that.

“Most strikers, they’re the ones finishing the play off so they’re more like wide receivers,” said Chad Riley, head men’s soccer coach at Notre Dame. “If you’re a finisher like Erling Haaland, you just get the last touch. But when Kane drops deep and plays in the wingers, those passes are like a quarterback throwing it.”

Harry Kane celebrates scoring England’s second goal against Croatia. (Paul Ellis / AFP via Getty Images)

It’s not like Kane is the first striker to evolve into a more all-around attacker. It’s just rare.

Sarachan coached in the World Cup in 2002 when the United States advanced to the quarterfinals, but it played with a traditional striker in Brian McBride with a young Landon Donovan in support. Sarachan was an assistant with Los Angeles when David Beckham played for the Galaxy, but the quarterback parallel didn’t work for the right-sided midfielder.

“For a goal scorer to also be given the freedom to find space, I’ve haven’t coached a guy like that,” Sarachan said. “Because of all those variables that quarterbacks face, the passes, seeing things earlier, being able adjust and adapt, being closed down by a lineman, you could see that analogy here.”