England Savour Harry Kane's Debut, but Michael Carrick's Return Is the Real Key

WEMBLEY STADIUM, London — Barring some unforeseen circumstance, Harry Kane will start for England against Italy in Tuesday's friendly.

Perhaps that was always Roy Hodgson’s plan, to ease Kane in from the bench against Lithuania before giving him an extended international audition in Turin.

We will perhaps never know for sure. With Danny Welbeck (knee injury) joining Raheem Sterling as unavailable for the friendly and no additional attacking call-ups planned, Hodgson has few other realistic options unless he gives Wayne Rooney the thankless task of going it alone.

"We’ll see [if Kane starts]," the England head coach said. "Obviously his chances get bigger all the time when we’re losing players.

"I haven’t got front players coming out of a hat, and he’s one of the ones that is there and is available."

Kane isn't just available; he's in the form of his young life. Some may insist that his current run of goals cannot last, that the fairytale has to end at some point and the less prolific player many suspect truly exists underneath it all will finally seep through.

But on Friday, the 21-year-old added another glorious chapter to his remarkable story, scoring within two minutes of making his international debut to grab the fourth goal of England’s 4-0 win over a limited Lithuania side.

"

VINE. Gol Harry Kane!! England 4-0 Lithuania http://t.co/zAefiQczVa

— Siaran Bola Live (@SiaranBolaLive_) March 28, 2015"

Kane spent longer waiting to come on than it took him to get on the scoresheet. The Spurs striker watched from the sidelines for nearly five minutes before the ball finally went out of play and he could make his (rapturously received) introduction.

Three touches later, and his first goal arrived thanks to a straightforward header at the back post.

"Maybe a minute? Eighty seconds? Hey, it's not too bad!" Kane told ITV. "It's the start I dreamed of, it's a little bit of a blur at the minute.

"It's the best moment by far, to represent your country at senior level is the top. Hopefully I can keep doing it and it's the first of many."

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Kane’s cameo elevated a game that was otherwise notable only for its monotony and mediocrity. It was 90 minutes reflective of England’s qualifying campaign as a whole—inferior opposition unable to stretch them in any meaningful way, or for any meaningful period of time—and the steady march to another three points would have been quickly forgotten by the 80,000 who watched it but for Kane’s impact.

"I’m delighted for Harry Kane," Hodgson said. "There’s been a lot of pressure around him, a lot of hype, but in the 25 minutes on the pitch he makes a good run to the back post, [Raheem] Sterling produces a bit of magic, and it was a good header. Let’s hope it’s the start of a good career for him."

For the members of the media, it was a clear, dominant storyline on a night that was otherwise lacking in real intrigue. Just as Kane elevated the excitement around him, so too did he increase the expectations another couple of notches.

"I don’t think he is a person who will buckle under pressure," Hodgson observed. "But he will have to recognise that the media spotlight, which has already been enormous, might get a bit bigger.

"We don’t want to build him up to knock him down, we want to build him up to see him get better. What could be better than scoring a goal on your debut?"

"We're all delighted," added Rooney, who also scored on the night to move within two of Sir Bobby Charlton’s all-time goalscoring record. "Hopefully it's the first of many."

Kane’s emergence is good news for Hodgson, but in truth, England’s worries right now do not begin with the attack.

Daniel Sturridge’s persistent injury problems are a growing concern, but with Rooney, Welbeck (whose knee injury is not believed to be too serious) and Sterling (who will now have an injection on his foot to get him through the remainder of Liverpool’s season), the Three Lions have strength in depth in that area of the pitch, even before they reach back into the well for Saido Berahino, Charlie Austin or another new name.

The Three Lions have now scored 19 goals in seven games since the World Cup. England’s attack certainly remains a work in progress, but other elements of the team should be of greater concern with just over a year until the European Championship.

The defence still needs to jell as a unit and prove itself against a side of comparative strength, but it is in midfield where Hodgson needs to find a balanced set-up with a certain amount of haste. Kane’s arrival stole the spotlight on Friday, but Michael Carrick’s return to the senior side will perhaps be the most significant (re)introduction in England’s long-term future.

Kirsty Wigglesworth/Associated Press

Carrick has long been the overlooked man of English football—at 33, he somehow has fewer caps than 24-year-old Welbeck (32 to 33)—and bad luck with injuries does not adequately explain why this was his first appearance for the Three Lions since 2013.

So vital for Manchester United for many years now, both as an astute reader of the play defensively and flawless distributor of it when in possession, Carrick has never been respected and appreciated in the same way at international level.

"It is not for nothing that Michael has been the linchpin for United for so long," his former team-mate Paul Scholes told The Independent on Friday. "He has just never had the faith of the England managers he has played under.

"No one appreciated Michael more than the midfielders who played alongside him at United. He is not a flash footballer. He doesn’t hit Hollywood passes. He doesn’t score lots of goals. But I loved playing alongside him. He was always in the right place. He gave me licence to play."

If Carrick can finally be allowed to play that role for England, it seems clear that they will be a better team in the long run. Initially on Friday, the midfield was something of a mess, with Lithuania fortunately lacking the quality to exploit the difficulty Carrick, Henderson and Delph were evidently having in playing together.

NBC Sports' Arlo White bemoaned the early struggles:

Henderson, who has been a greater fixture in this England side than Carrick in recent months, initially seemed determined to play the anchor role himself, dropping alongside Carrick and occupying many of the same areas and demanding many of the same balls.

Yet once the Liverpool man was pushed further forward, alongside Delph and out of Carrick’s way, the improvement was stark. Carrick began orchestrating things (with or without the ball) from that anchoring position ahead of the central defenders, just as he does for his club.

Lithuania’s only shot on goal came courtesy of a rare Carrick mistake, but beyond that small slip, his importance and value was noticeable in a game where, admittedly, the quality of opposition renders any sweeping assessments pointless.

White praised the stark improvement:

Still, Carrick moved the ball around the pitch with grace and allowed the likes of Sterling, Welbeck and Kane to torment the opposition, exploiting a lack of fitness in Lithuania that was evident after half-time.

"One team played, and we just sweated," as Lithuania coach Igoris Pankratjevas surmised. It was often Carrick pulling the strings.

Mike Hewitt/Getty Images

Kane will almost certainly start against Italy, but it is Carrick who really needs the test against a team of genuine quality. He needs to be given the chance to underline what he can bring to the team.

Barely 16 months from an international tournament they are now almost certain to qualify for, England are unlikely to develop another deep-lying midfielder of Carrick’s class in the interim. After roughly a decade being marginalised, this is perhaps his moment to finally become a pivotal figure.

His role in that midfield needs to be set in stone, with the other pieces fitted in around him. If Hodgson can do that—and he has been as guilty as anyone of overlooking Carrick’s value, so that is far from guaranteed—England will surely be far better off.

Kane’s arrival gave a visible and spectacular lift at Wembley on Friday, and he seems likely to energise and motivate the rest of the squad going forward.

But Carrick’s return could perhaps be of even bigger short-term significance, which makes him the man to watch against Italy on Tuesday.

Quotes obtained firsthand unless otherwise stated.