England's Harry Kane needs an ally other than Dele Alli

Harry Kane is a model student who is continually being held back by his unruly classmate.

Opposites may continue to attract for Tottenham Hotspur, but Dele Alli is proving part of the England captain's ongoing World Cup conundrum rather than offering a potential solution.

That just one of Kane's six goals at the Finals has come from open play highlights why Gareth Southgate will have to wrestle with an unenviable decision when the Three Lions head into a quarter-final showdown with Sweden tomorrow.

QUARTER-FINAL

SWEDEN

ENGLAND

Even in north London, the Lilywhites' good cop/bad cop routine had started to turn stale; Kane's close-run battle with Mohamed Salah for last season's Golden Boot was more a triumph of his own Midas touch than a flourishing partnership with Alli, although it did appear in flashes.

His World Cup goal tally has also been heavily at odds with supply and demand.

Too often, Kane finds himself wanting and waiting for through-balls, the kind that Alli has often provided for Mauricio Pochettino's side.

But Alli's task at club level is far less onerous than it is increasingly becoming for his country.

With Spurs, there is no obligation to be an auxiliary water carrier first and an attacking outlet second. Sitting in a packed midfield, instead of tucked in behind Kane, has also not helped.

Tunisia coach Nabil Maaloul identified a break-up of the pair's once-blossoming partnership as being key to disrupting England's momentum in their Group G opener.

In truth, Southgate's tactical approach had already done much of that hard work for the Eagles of Carthage.

In the heat of Volgograd, Alli managed to record the fastest speed of any England player while simultaneously appearing out of his depth.

Being workmanlike yet ineffectual repeated itself in their eventual progress against Colombia in the Round of 16 this week.

Dropping the 22-year-old against a Sweden side that will make spaces harder to exploit with their notoriously defensive game plan should be the logical conclusion for Southgate, despite his reluctance to deviate from the principles that have served his team well.

Harnessing either the quiet industry of Ruben Loftus-Cheek or Fabian Delph's experience would allow the England manager to bridge the disparity between midfield and attack.

Dropping a similarly ineffectual Raheem Sterling back into a wide role is also an option.

However, it is Marcus Rashford's capabilities which are better suited to improving Kane's ratio in front of goal, without relying solely on an unlikely rekindling of his link with Alli.

Cameos against Belgium and Colombia offered glimpses of what damage the Manchester United striker could inflict on the Swedes if called upon.

What Rashford may have lacked in a clinical edge against Roberto Martinez's own Red Devils, he was able to compensate with smart link-up play, acting as a perfect foil in a two-man front line.

The almost telepathic understanding between Kane and Alli remains largely unrivalled by their English Premier League counterparts. Yet, there has been a breakdown in their on-field communication in Russia.

To take England further, one will have to do without the other.

PREDICTIONS

England to win 1-0

"Sweden have kept three clean sheets from four games and, along with Uruguay, must be the most organised side remaining. That said, they are fairly impotent in attack.

"The Three Lions have grown as a youthful team, brought together by winning their first World Cup penalty shoot-out. Expectation is high in England and Harry Kane's seventh goal of the tournament will be just enough. Football's coming home!"

- Tampines Rovers defender Daniel Bennett

England to win 2-0

"England are very likely to go through as confidence is quite high. It's the first time in a long while they've won a penalty shoot-out, and the belief is starting to build. Harry Kane has been doing well for sure and so is goalkeeper Jordan Pickford. Overall, it's a very young team who have been together for quite a while from the youth set-up and that will help."

- Former Lions goalkeeper Lionel Lewis