Spurs were lucky to claw back a draw against Brentford on Monday, as they returned to Premier League action with a lacklustre St Stephen's Day performance. Second half goals from Harry Kane and Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg rescued a 2-2 draw for Spurs after Vitaly Janelt and Ivan Toney had given Brentford what seemed like a comfortable lead in West London.
The game added to Brentford's impressive collection of results this season, with the Bees having taken a 4-0 win over Manchester United in August, and a 2-1 win over Manchester City just before the World Cup break.
Spurs' returning World Cup players of Kane, Hojbjerg, Ivan Perisic and co. were somewhat out of sorts in the first half at the Brentford Community Stadium, but came good in a second half performance which almost saw Spurs claim all three points.
Harry Kane was their first goalscorer, but the nightmares of the World Cup will no doubt be lingering with the England captain. On his return to Premier League action, Kane was targeted by chants from the home fans for his miss from the spot against France in the World Cup quarter-finals.
Even former Manchester United and France left-back Patrice Evra couldn't resist a dig at Kane for his miss in Qatar.
Brentford v Spurs: Harry Kane targeted over World Cup miss
Spurs have made a habit of coming from behind in the Premier League this season, and their return from the World Cup break against Brentford was no different.
Janelt and Toney looked to have pushed Brentford in the direction of another famous win, but a comeback kick started by a brilliant Harry Kane header meant the spoils were shared in London. Janelt's goal was a calamitous collection of defensive screw-ups, with questions to be asked of Spurs' stand-in goalkeeper Fraser Forster for his slow reaction to a deflection in the box.
Harry Kane scored in the second half, after spending the game being taunted by the Brentford fans during the game.
Kane's spectacular penalty miss in the World Cup quarter-final was ultimately England's last chance to pull back a 2-1 deficit to France, as Kane's side exited the tournament at the last eight.
🏴1-2🇫🇷
Harry Kane blazes over from the penalty spot!
📝Live updates: https://t.co/ZpRyodk2W2
📺 Watch live on @rte2 and @rteplayer: https://t.co/1CdVcPaz8Z#FifaWorldCup #RTEsoccer #ENGFRA pic.twitter.com/skbbl1J3mt— RTÉ Soccer (@RTEsoccer) December 10, 2022
Despite scoring from the spot earlier in the game against France, Kane's miss with his second penalty was the defining moment of his and England's World Cup, and it was perhaps to be expected that opposition fans would take it upon themselves to mock the England captain.
During Monday's 2-2 draw between Brentford and Spurs, the home fans targeted Kane with chants of:
You let your country down, you let your country down!
The abuse for Kane is nothing new from English football fans - and, if anything, is tame compared to what we have seen in the past. David Beckham was vilified by opposition fans at the beginning of the 1998-99 season, after being sent off in England's World Cup exit against Argentina the preceding summer.
It's been exactly 22 years since David Beckham flicked his leg out at Diego Simeone in the 1998 World Cup Round of 16 and the nation marked him as public enemy number one. pic.twitter.com/e0b1CCD7d5
— COPA90 (@Copa90) June 30, 2020
We can only imagine that Kane may have to fear worse words from the crowd when Spurs come up against bigger rivals than Brentford.
Speaking on Prime Video after the final whistle, Frenchman Patrice Evra poked fun at Kane's miss at the World Cup.
Spurs had a penalty claim in the second half, when Kane was dragged down by Brentford centre-back Ben Mee, with referee David Coote not even checking the pitchside monitor for the clash.
When discussing the incident, Evra couldn't resist a joke at Kane's expense:
It's a 100% penalty.
The only reason - and, sorry Harry, sometimes I like to make jokes - maybe Harry was like "I'm fine with that! I don't need a penalty right now!"
We imagine these jokes may have some legs yet - though Evra would later add he hoped to see Kane scoring a penalty soon, and was happy to see him nab a goal despite his joking.
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