England captain Harry Kane suffered heartbreak once more at the Euros as victory eluded his nation yet again, following a 2-1 defeat to Spain which saw them lose a second European Championship final in succession.

Yamal was TWO when Harry Kane made his professional debut. He’s completed his entire school education and won a trophy before Harry Kane.

Let that sink in

— King SJ (@ItsOnlyBantz) July 14, 2024

Coming “oh so close” has become an uncomfortably familiar feeling for Kane, who in his later years at Tottenham Hotspur began to hear whispers of “he’s too good not to win a trophy,” mixed with the inevitable response of “well, he’s not going to do that here is he?”

One of the most prolific strikers in Premier League history, and the England national team’s all time record goal scorer, Kane will no doubt go down as a legend whether he wins a team accolade or not. However, his trophy hoodoo, which stretches all the way back to 2015, has become something of a burden.

After breaking into the Spurs first team at the start of the 2014/15 season, he unfortunately found himself on the losing side of all three finals they reached: 2015 Carabao Cup final vs Chelsea (L. 2-0), 2019 Champions league final vs Liverpool (L. 2-0), 2021 Carabao Cup final vs Man City (L. 1-0).

Despite playing a huge part in his side reaching the final initially, Kane and Tottenham failed to score in any of those three finals, and it would not be unfair to say that their performances reflect the result.

It was unsurprising perhaps that last summer he finally opted to leave floundering Tottenham for German heavyweights Bayern Munich, who had won at least one trophy every year since 2012. It seemed almost guaranteed that he would finally break his duck, in a team containing the creative genius of Serge Gnabry and Leroy Sane, as well as the defensive solidity provided by Joshua Kimmich and Matthjis De Ligt.

- Lost 2 Carabao Cup finals
- Lost the UCL final
- Lost Euros 2020 final
- Lost the German Super Cup
- Bayern also lost their first league title in 12 years
- Lost Euros 2024 final

ZERO trophy won in his career.

Feel sorry for him, but just maybe the Harry Kane curse is real. pic.twitter.com/f4kbDzYvEX

— UF (@UtdFaithfuls) July 14, 2024

Kane appeared to be the final piece of the puzzle, a striker who could guarantee 25+ goals per season for the first time since Robert Lewandowski’s departure. Unfortunately, his bad luck seemed to follow him over the channel.

In his first season with Bayern, he lost a further final, a one off game between the DFB Pokal winners and Bundesliga champions in the German Supercup. Pitted against RB Leipzig, Kane lost in his first competitive game for his new club, and they were well beaten, losing 3-0 as the Englishman watched another trophy slip through his fingers. It seemed to be a sign of things to come.

Bayern had won the league every season for the last 11 years, a remarkable record akin to Juventus’ former dominance over in Italy, a league which is now very much up for grabs. German football seems to have transitioned to a similar theme this season, as out of nowhere, a Xabi Alonso coached Bayer Leverkusen side went invincible in the league, winning it as they did so. A very impressive VFB Stuttgart side also finished ahead of Bayern, taking a surprise second place.

The DFB Pokal and Champions League were however still winnable, at least until without doubt Munich’s most disappointing result of the season came in the former. Playing 3rd tier Saarbrucken, Kane’s side somehow contrived to lose 2-1 despite playing what on paper appeared to be a strong B team. However, Kane stayed on the bench, a decision that ended up costing coach Thomas Tuchel’s side.

A cup run that's not even possible in Career Mode 🤯

3rd tier Saarbrücken have knocked out Bayern Munich, Frankfurt and Gladbach and are now in the semi-final 🔥

Next up: Kaiserslautern from the 2nd Bundesliga 👀pic.twitter.com/GSkmqkBmOL

— RaatjeFC (@RaatjeFC) March 12, 2024

The Champions league was now the only front on which they were competing, and while they reached the second leg of the semi final level with Real Madrid, and temporarily led through an Alphonso Davies stunner, the Germans couldn’t hold off an astonishing late comeback, falling to a last-gasp Joselu double.

Incredibly, Kane had failed to pick up a trophy in his first season with the team he had moved to in order to almost guarantee silverware.

Internationally, Kane has been central to England’s progress through major tournaments, and has been the nations top scorer at three of the last four tournaments. Surely with him leading the line, England had to win something eventually.

They came close at the 2018 World Cup, with Kane winning the golden boot thanks to six goals en route to the semi finals, but they unfortunately fell at the penultimate hurdle thanks to a Mario Mandzukic extra-time winner.

Euro 2020 saw England go one step further, as they reached the final after Kane had scored in each of the knockout rounds. Here though they would fall to Italy, this time through the agonizing medium of a penalty shootout after a 1-1 draw in 120 minutes of football. They may not have won, but they were getting closer.

The 2022 World Cup was a reality check. After reaching the quarter finals comfortably, they faced eventual losing finalists France. Kane scored a penalty to equalize the game at 1-1 in the second half, and had the same opportunity to draw them level again from 12 yards in the 84th minute, but he blazed his second penalty well over the bar, eliminating England in a game they perhaps didn’t deserve to lose in normal time.

Harry Kane on last night's defeat to France 🗣️ pic.twitter.com/pVmeGCL5I1

— ESPN UK (@ESPNUK) December 11, 2022

This brings us to the present day, the morning after the Euro 2024 final. Once again his country’s top scorer en route to the final with three goals, Kane and England found themselves in their first ever major final on foreign soil, and this time were pitted against a dangerous Spanish side that had a 100% win record at the tournament.

Coming out of half time at 0-0, it took Spain just 72 seconds to take advantage of an England lapse and lead early in the second period through electric winger Nico Williams. England rarely threatened, only doing so through counter-attacks, and Kane was a non-factor for much of the game.

Another final in which Harry Kane has registered 0 shots on target. He’s never had a shot on target in any final he’s played in and people will act like it’s all some massive coincidence

— mario (@4mxrioo) July 14, 2024

He was taken off for semi final hero Ollie Watkins after an hour, and England suddenly had more pace, more dynamism in attack, and they found themselves level in the 73rd minute when another substitute, Cole Palmer, scored a wonderful drilled first time effort from distance to give fans hope that football may still come home.

However, with three minutes to go, dreams were crushed and hearts were broken as Mikel Oyarzabal nipped in ahead of Marc Guehi to prod home a perfect cross by Marc Cucurella, handing Spain the title.

Last night was the sixth competitive final of Harry Kane’s career, and miraculously he had failed to come out victorious even once. A player of his quality and personal accolades realistically should have at least one team honor to go with those by now, and aged just 30, he has plenty of time to change that and come back stronger next season with Bayern.

1 - Harry Kane had just one touch in the opposition box across the EURO 2020 and EURO 2024 finals against Italy and Spain, one fewer than Jack Grealish had; Grealish played 21 minutes in the 2020 final and didn't make the EURO 2024 squad. Uninvolved. pic.twitter.com/IzvN6pdnps

— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) July 14, 2024

But if the situation remains the same a couple of seasons from now, people will be starting to wonder whether he is genuinely cursed. It may be a case of the harsh statement: “A player can leave Spurs, but Spurs never leaves the player.”

Kane has been a brilliant servant to his country, taking us further than we could have imagined in our wildest dreams when Gareth Southgate took over, and it will be a momentous day for all of us when he finally wins something. Fingers crossed it happens before the 2026 World Cup in North America. If it does, there is an argument that it could be a case of the floodgates opening …