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Micah Richards claims England star has gone 'to the next level' after Czechia win

Former Manchester City defender Micah Richards (Picture: The Rest Is Football)

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Micah Richards believes Harry Kane has gone ‘to the next level’ with his finishing after his latest England goal in their 2-0 win over Czechia.

Anthony Gordon opened the scoring in Prague before Kane’s ruthless finish put the game beyond doubt to register England’s first win of their Nations League campaign.

Kane has enjoyed a remarkable 12 months of goalscoring for both Bayern Munich and England and is the bookies’ favourite to win next month’s Ballon d’Or in London.

And Richards was keen to laud the 33-year-old’s talents, insisting the Three Lions skipper has managed to take his game to yet another level over recent months.

‘I had this debate a while ago, and I think the debate was something like Rooney, Kane and Shearer, or something like that,’ he said on The Rest Is Football podcast.

‘And I picked Shearer, I did, because when I was growing up, the goals that you scored and headers and all that, it was amazing.

‘But now, I genuinely think Kane’s taken it to the next level. I think for someone not to be particularly strong, someone not to be particularly fast, obviously his brain’s on a different level.

Harry Kane now has 87 goals for England (Picture: Getty Images)

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‘He uses his body well, but I wouldn’t say, you wouldn’t say Kane is a strong player. You wouldn’t say, oh, that is his attribute, but he uses his body well. I’ll take that.

‘But his finishing, right foot, left foot, it’s not normal. The purity of the strike, it’s not normal. Right foot, left foot, dropping into little pockets and all that sort of stuff.

‘I know he was different players, both top goal scorers. But when he’s in the box, I never think he’s going to miss. He always seems to hit the target.

KANE DOUBLES ENGLAND'S LEAD 🔥Harry Kane in the right place at the right time for the Three Lions 🦁#ITVFootball | @England pic.twitter.com/Od9x5kXOsH— ITV Football (@itvfootball) September 29, 2026

‘Yes, he missed the penalty against Spain. And yes, he missed the penalty against France in big games. But when he’s in the box, yeah, his finishing is so deadly. It’s so deadly.’

Speaking after his side’s victory, Kane told BBC Radio 5 Live: ‘Job done, it was a professional performance. It wasn’t the most exciting game of football but we did what we had to. Won the game, good clean sheet and we take it into the next one.’

footballUEFA Nations LeagueEnglandCzechiaHarry KaneMicah RichardsAnthony GordonBallon d'Or