Old foes battling it out again in bid to lead way to a grand finale

ONE on his heels as a Bukayo Saka cutback spears into the box and is comfortably cleared; the other crouched, five yards behind the defensive line, as Marcel Sabitzer breaks a botched offside trap to score Austria’s winning goal.

- Malik Ouzia

To call these the defining images of the respective tournaments of Harry Kane and Virgil van Dijk would be a touch harsh. They are, after all, each about to lead their country out in a Euros semi-final, knowing one or the other will do likewise in Sunday’s showpiece against Spain in Berlin.

Still, though, they are snapshots that fuel the nagging sense that tonight’s renewal of what was, until recently, a totemic Premier League rivalry, comes at a time when its two principles are a diminishing force. In permanent decline? No, that would be premature. Kane, about to turn 31, scored 36 times in the Bundesliga last season, while Van Dijk, 33 at the start of this week, was outstanding for much of Liverpool’s campaign before their title challenge faded late on.

Rather, it has so far looked as if this summer’s tournament might simply have come along at an inconvenient moment, when for a multitude of speculative reasons, neither is quite on top of his game.