Gareth Southgate knows he is lucky to have Harry Kane. Mauricio Pochettino knows just how fortunate he is, too. The Spurs and England fans have seen enough of him to know that many of Kane’s talents will be enough to negate the embedded shortcomings across the rest of the team. Last night didn’t improve that, it merely demonstrated it yet again.

England struggled against Lithuania, in the way we always expect them to struggle in these kind of matches. Playing away from home is difficult for anyone, but away from home comforts, England have always found it especially hard to find their rhythm. There are obviously a few exceptions over the years, but even as England find it easy to qualify for the biggest tournaments, it is rarely with superb performances over the course of the year. Take them away from the usual base, to South Africa, France, or likely soon in Russia, and the changes all prove too much.

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As a country we often reject the idea of enjoying the novelty of foreign places, preferring to find another England by the sea, or congregate with our own countrymen at pre-approved sunny beaches.

In some senses, it’s understandable. As a country and as a people, we are ill at ease when away from our familiar surroundings, so we try to avoid it. But for a football team, that is a particular problem. Look at England’s performance yesterday for an explanation why we must be able to work with differing expectations and realities.

There were changes made to the England line up, in personnel and formation, and only Harry Winks impressed along with Kane. Maybe because he has the advantage of Pochettino as a coach, and because the weight of international duty has not bogged him down yet, but the others playing for England struggled with three at the back.

They also found it hard that Lithuania sat back and aimed for a draw. It should have been no surprise – Lithuania couldn’t beat Malta in their previous game, they weren’t going to turn into 1970 Brazil – but England could barely cope. In their day jobs, they come up against expensively assembled sides and Premier League scrappers.

Against, say, Burnley, even if they can’t make the difference, their foreign teammates will have the patience and technique to try something to break the deadlock. If they are coming up against more ambitious opponents, higher up the table or in Europe, then they will at least be given space to use for their attacks.

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Southgate knows this, and he should be praised for not hiding it and for attempting to change it for the better. Putting three at the back does, he can hope, give the chance for some mental stimulation in the squad.

By putting his players into new roles compared to previous managers, he has the chance over the training camps ahead of him to tailor the approach in his own desired way. It may not be perfect, in fact it definitely won’t come close, but he has taken a sensible decision and given himself time to do it.

For past England sides, it often felt like things were left to the last minute in the hope that they might sort themselves out with positive thinking, and no little dithering. Wayne Rooney is the obvious example of this. Roy Hodgson could not bring himself to drop his captain, instead relentlessly praising his attitude, and shifting him to the left wing in the hope that he would magically rediscover fitness and form.

He isn’t the only manager to have suffered from such an approach, but he should have been aware it was a waste of time. Sam Allardyce took over for his spell, and after his sole game he more or less admitted that Rooney was allowed to do what he wanted, regardless of instruction. Southgate didn’t fall for that.

Southgate is searching for new players to try now, not in the weeks running up to the tournament in Russia. He perhaps needs to get rid of Joe Hart quickly, because he cannot save to his left, but that is the only glaring weakness. What is puzzling is that his new captain has not been chosen, and he won’t be rushed into the decision.

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There is no decision to rush, though, as there is only one candidate.
Kane has started to carry this side in the way that Rooney did at the start of his England career, or the way that Michael Owen did, however briefly.

England rarely come across this type of player, at least on their own side, but Kane is even better than that. Rooney and Owen both succeeded initially because they were without inhibition. They played with their own kind of fearlessness, about their own bodies and about the opposition’s capability to stop them. Kane is more sophisticated than that.

Last week, only 24, he talked about making the most of a limited career, of taking any advantage that is offered to him. He doesn’t drink in the season, and he has his own chef to maximise his chances of recovery and good performance. Kane leads by performance both off and on the field. It’s something that any club should expect from all its players, really, but certainly of their captain. It is something that England has not had in the past two decades.

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They have a world class striker who understands not only his responsibilities, but one who prepares himself to meet and exceed them. Southgate will not be rushed into a decision, and that is usually a sensible choice to make in any scenario. But Southgate has been swiftly and correctly decisive in the past – that’s why we no longer have Rooney – and he needs to do the same with Kane, for the benefit of the whole team.