ENGLAND must get the best out of Harry Kane in order to win Euro 2024, claims Jamie Carragher.
The Three Lions skipper was a peripheral figure for large spells of his side's 1-0 win over Serbia last night.
Kane, 30, touched the ball just twice during the first half - playing on the fringes of the match.
He eventually finished with 24 touches, one of which was a 77th minute header from substitute Jarrod Bowen's cross, which was tipped on to the crossbar.
In his column for the Telegraph, Carragher compared Kane's output against Serbia to that of Erling Haaland at Manchester City.
But the former England defender, 46, reckons that Gareth Southgate and Co will need more from Kane if they are to go all the way in Germany.
He also raised the issue of Southgate having to try to accommodate both Phil Foden and Jude Bellingham behind the Three Lions captain.
"If Southgate persists with the same system for the rest of the tournament, his No9 will be heavily compromised," wrote Carragher.
"Possibly too much. Having come into the Euros with a Phil Foden conundrum, after one game Southgate has a Kane one.
"In the first half, Kane registered just two touches of the ball. For a player of his class, that is deeply worrying.
"By full time that had risen to 24, showing that he was more involved in the second half – ironic given that England were less dominant in possession.
"There is a tactical curiosity that when England played well, Kane was not involved at all. When they didn’t, he nearly scored and had more possession."
Foden was deployed off the left flank, with Bellingham occupying the main space behind Kane.
This worked to good effect for England's winning goal, with Bellingham crashing into the box to head home Bukayo Saka's deflected cross after 13 minutes.
Carragher went on to explain how in previous tournaments, Kane has dropped deep to pick up the ball before swivelling to look for pacey runners in behind including Saka, Raheem Sterling and Marcus Rashford.
This time around, however, only Saka is in the team to try to dart in behind.
Carra went on to suggest that the likes of Anthony Gordon or Ollie Watkins could have been introduced from the bench to offer that kind of speed.
While he also suggested that the inclusion in midfield of Trent Alexander-Arnold, in addition to the likes of Bellingham and Foden, left things too congested.
He did, however, point to one famous example of an international boss making a comparable conundrum work - albeit with some of the world's greatest, most experienced players.
Carragher went on: "Southgate’s situation with this profile of the England squad reminds me of the decisions facing Vicente del Bosque with the legendary Spanish side which followed its World Cup success by defending the Euros in 2012.
"Del Bosque had several players who all occupied the same position, and somehow had to accommodate Xavi, Sergio Busquets, Andres Iniesta, Xabi Alonso, David Silva and Cesc Fabregas.
"His solution was to pick them all, Spain winning the final without any recognised striker. Great players made it work.
"England have a long way to go to warrant comparisons with one of the greatest international sides ever, but it is an example of how managers will ultimately be lured to ensuring they get all their best players on the pitch at the same time.
"Short-term, I would expect Southgate to persist with Sunday night’s plan. But going forward, getting the most from Kane is the only way in which England can win the competition."
The Three Lions will return to action on Thursday at 5pm, when they face Denmark in Frankfurt.