Kane, Haaland and Osimhen: What Makes a Striker the Best in the World?

Jorge Jesus was asked about Erling Haaland before Portugal played Norway in Oslo on Sunday, and he said the Manchester City striker is the most physically and technically powerful player inside the box. The Portugal coach added that Haaland is less dominant outside the area even though he is fast. Inside the box, he believes Haaland and Victor Osimhen are the strongest in the world.

Portugal would go on to win 2-1. Haaland still scored Norway’s only goal, which is the point Jesus was making. You can plan for the Norwegian and he still finds a yard in the penalty area. Osimhen, at Galatasaray, does the same job in a different league. Both attack the ball, both fight centre-backs, and both finish when the chance is ugly.

Harry Kane just had the biggest scoring season of his career, he is one of the favourites for the Ballon d’Or on 26 October, and he still lives in the same part of the pitch Jesus was talking about. The difference, though, is how he gets there.

Jesus has coached in Portugal, Brazil, Saudi Arabia and Turkey. He has seen Osimhen up close from the other dugout in Istanbul, and he has now had to plan for Haaland with a national team. Haaland runs beyond the last man and wants the ball early. When it comes, he rarely needs two touches. Norway built their World Cup run around that. The 26-year-old scored seven times at the tournament and took them to the quarter-finals, in what was their first knockout football since 1998. For Manchester City last season he scored 38 times in 52 games and they won the FA Cup and the League Cup.

Osimhen does more of his work with his back to goal and in the air. He won the Super Lig last season and finished as top scorer in the league the year before, with 26 goals. In 2025-26 he scored 22 times in 33 club games, including seven in the Champions League. He reached 50 Galatasaray goals in 59 appearances.

The 2023 African Player of the Year still stretches a back line the same way he did at Napoli. The ball into the box is his invitation. His praise wasn't about who presses more or who drops into midfield. It was about the box.

Kane does not look like the other two. He is 33. He plays deeper than both for long spells. Bayern ask him to collect from midfield, find Jamal Musiala or Michael Olise, then appear in the six-yard box. For that, there are actually people that still argue about whether he is a real No 9. But then, the numbers from last season should quiet that argument for a while.

The England captain scored 73 goals for club and country in 65 games. Thirty-six of those were in 31 Bundesliga matches. Fourteen in 13 Champions League games. He won the league, the German Cup and the Super Cup. England finished third at the World Cup and he scored five times there, taking him past Gary Lineker as the country’s record World Cup scorer.

Bayern president Herbert Hainer asked what more you have to do to win the Ballon d’Or.

“Harry Kane scored 60 goals in the Bundesliga, Pokal and Champions League, became German champion, won the DFB-Pokal, reached the semifinals of the Champions League, played a very good World Cup,” Hainer said, per @iMiaSanMia. “I don’t know what more you have to do to win the Ballon d'Or.”

Ask the player himself about the annual award, he would tell you, “It was my best year without a doubt, but also, from a team point of you was my best in terms of trophies and performances. It’s something that would be amazing to win.”

Jorge Jesus was talking about strength in the box. Kane wins that argument in a way. He does not bounce centre-backs off the way Osimhen does, and he does not burst in behind like Haaland. He comes late, on his left or his right, and the finish is usually the simple one.

Last season Kane also created 39 chances in the Bundesliga. Unlike the other two that  live to score, the Englishman is unique in that aspect. Kane scores and still plays the pass that makes the next chance.

Haaland’s club numbers last season were lower than Kane’s because City were not the same machine they were in 2022 and 2023. Osimhen’s league is weaker than the Premier League or the Bundesliga, which is the first thing opponents say when his name comes up. The truth is, the Nigerian still scores in the Champions League and he still wins his duels against sides that stay deep.

If the question is who is the best right now, Kane arguably has the stronger case for the award in London next month. Voters look at the season from August 2025 to the World Cup final in July.

In that window he has the goals, the medals and the England run. Haaland has the World Cup haul and the club cups. Osimhen has the title in Turkey and the same box threat Jesus talked about.