With Tottenham in a desperate search for an equalising goal, Kieran Trippier lifted a brilliant cross from the right towards the back post. Harry Kane rose above the defender and met the ball with his head from close range. Surely he’d done it. He only needed to hit the target, he’d done it hundreds of times before…missed.

Kane had missed.

The moment for Kane to equalise and go into the international break with three goals behind him and with Spurs’ unbeaten start intact had passed him by. As an isolated incident this will seem like just an ill-judged header or a one-off. However, this performance against Watford turned the whispers about his poor form into cries for help.

Despite his two goals in Tottenham’s opening four Premier League matches, something looks different about Kane and it is a worry for someone who prides themselves on delivering goals and performances of the highest level on a consistent basis.

Watford vs Tottenham - player ratings Show all 22 1 /22 Watford vs Tottenham - player ratings Watford vs Tottenham - player ratings Ben Foster - 7/10 Looked slightly frail at certain moments but was actually rarely troubled and in the end made the saves he needed to make. Getty Images Watford vs Tottenham - player ratings Daryl Janmaat - 7 A really good threat going forward. An underrated player for the Hornets who puts in plenty of good crosses but is a more than capable defender, too. Getty Images Watford vs Tottenham - player ratings Craig Cathcart - 8 Strong performance. Watford look a better side with him at the back. Dominates the back line, wins headers and scored the winning goal. REUTERS Watford vs Tottenham - player ratings Christian Kabasele - 7 Also strong alongside his fellow centre half and handled Kane with authority. Getty Images Watford vs Tottenham - player ratings Jose Holebas - 7 He’s a really strange one. A loose cannon? Most definitely. But he is a capable footballer too, although I wouldn’t be a big fan of him if I was a nearby water bottle. Set up Watford’s equaliser and winning goal. Getty Images Watford vs Tottenham - player ratings Abdoulaye Doucoure - 7 Was one of Watford’s star performers last season and was good here again, despite his own-goal. AP Watford vs Tottenham - player ratings Etienne Capoue - 6 Former Spurs player but not much good or bad to say about his performance this afternoon. REUTERS Watford vs Tottenham - player ratings Will Hughes - 6 Reasonable performance but not as influential as he has been so far this season. REUTERS Watford vs Tottenham - player ratings Roberto Pereyra - 6 Has been Watford’s best player so far this season but wasn’t given much of a sniff today. AP Watford vs Tottenham - player ratings Andre Gray - 5 Made some good runs but little else came off for him and well martialled by a strong Spurs defence. REUTERS Watford vs Tottenham - player ratings Troy Deeney - 8 A really clever striker and good at finding the gaps. Shame for him that today there were very few of them but when he found one, he used it and capitalised. A great flick-on for the equaliser. AP Watford vs Tottenham - player ratings Michel Vorm - 7 Replacing the injured Hugo Lloris, Vorm performed well and claimed what needed to be claimed. The Spurs defence has another goalkeeper who can be relied upon it seems. Neither goal was his fault. EPA Watford vs Tottenham - player ratings Toby Alderweireld - 6 Another solid performance from a man who dominated proceedings last week in the victory over Manchester United. Will be disappointed with goals conceded though. REUTERS Watford vs Tottenham - player ratings Davinson Sanchez - 5 No better place to learn how to defend then alongside Jan Vertonghen and Toby Alderweireld. Reasonable performance but still a way to go to reach his partners. PA Watford vs Tottenham - player ratings Jan Vertonghen - 7 Another good performance from the Belgian maestro. He’s just so good at reading the play and making tackles when called upon. Like his fellow defenders, will be disappointed they couldn’t match Watford’s second half intensity, though. REUTERS Watford vs Tottenham - player ratings Mousa Dembele - 5 Up against a big strong midfield he has a tougher game than he’s probably used to and won’t face this kind of opposition every week. REUTERS Watford vs Tottenham - player ratings Kieran Trippier - 7 Only marginally better than his fellow full-back with some testing crosses to mix with his defensive solidarity. Getty Images Watford vs Tottenham - player ratings Christian Eriksen - 6 He has been a bit quieter so far this season and that continued into this game with a few pot shots but little of his creative magic that we’re so used to seeing. Getty Images Watford vs Tottenham - player ratings Dele Alli - 6 Missed a few good chances and wasn’t quite on tip top form but his season is ticking over quite nicely so far. Will be a bit disappointed this afternoon. REUTERS Watford vs Tottenham - player ratings Ben Davies - 6 Lot of pressure from Danny Rose on the bench to steal his place in the line-up but his performance was fine. Not special though. Getty Images Watford vs Tottenham - player ratings Lucas Moura - 7 With Eriksen struggling to make as much impact as he did last season, Lucas has jumped out of his shell and continued his fine form with some great touches and bursts of pace this afternoon. Set up Tottenham’s goal. AFP/Getty Images Watford vs Tottenham - player ratings Harry Kane - 5 Quiet afternoon’s work for Harry Kane who wasn’t actually given much of a sniff. Not his usual self and couldn’t create much. Getty

Kane emerged from the World Cup as the tournament’s top goal scorer, England’s first Golden Boots winner since Gary Lineker in 1986, but even then, something wasn’t right. He then returned to Tottenham and broke his barren record in August, but still something wasn’t right. Against Watford there was no movement, shooting, hold up play or final product. Again, something wasn’t right.

Kane went into the Word Cup on the back of another fruitful season and started the tournament in scintillating form, but as the weeks progressed he slowly declined into a fraction of the player he is.

Tunisia and Panama were triumphs, but against Colombia, Sweden and Croatia there was nothing left to give.

Kane continued to look short on form against Watford (AFP/Getty Images) (Getty)

The hope for Tottenham was that he would have some time off and these dips in his form would be just that, however it is clear there is an underlying problem to his game at the moment. Half a yard of pace is missing, first touches aren’t as assured as they used to be, and his movement is less calculated. Before the World Cup Kane was averaging 5.4 shots per game in the Premier League, that fell to 2.5 in Russia and is now even lower.

Spurs took a fortuitous lead against Watford when Lucas Moura’s cross was turned into his own net by Abdoulaye Doucoure, however they failed to hold onto their advantage and Troy Deeney and Craig Cathcart scored from set-pieces to snatch a win.

Mauricio Pochettino put the defeat down to a subdued mentality, and while he made no specific reference to Kane’s performance, he did suggest that the World Cup meant that Tottenham began the season in “difficult circumstances”.

It seems that Pochettino could see Kane’s drop in form coming and brought Lucas into the first team to paper over the cracks. The Brazilian winger played as a second striker against Manchester United and Watford to stretch opposition defences and leave Kane space to shoot from the edge of the box as well as decrease the number of defenders that mark him, but what worked so well at Old Trafford came undone against Watford.

Tired by his shortcomings, Kane dropped deep to get himself involved, in a similar way that a frustrated Wayne Rooney would, but was often too far away from the action to get involved once Spurs had worked the ball forward. Dele Alli and Christian Eriksen both grew weary of playing close to him and Kane became a spectator to what became a bit of a mess.

A sluggish performance may have been excused if he could grab a goal and spare Tottenham’s blushes after losing the lead, but he fluffed his lines late in the game when he headed Trippier’s cross over the bar.

Harry Kane and Lucas Moura worked well together at Old Trafford Reuters) (Reuters)

The Tottenham and England forward played 52 matches last season and was the side’s go-to man for goals, a responsibility that has never weighed heavy on his shoulders or hindered him, until now.

What Spurs and Southgate must now be wary of is the risk of him burning out, and carefully work on getting him back to his normal self, whether this takes a week, a month, or even longer.

Talk to Kane and he will tell you he’s absolutely fine and wants to play as many games as he possibly can, but there comes a time where his noble desire to give as much to the cause as humanly possible begins to become seriously detrimental to his long-term career.

The solution is as unclear as the diagnosis itself. England play Spain in the Uefa Nations League and a friendly against Switzerland before Kane returns to Spurs when they will begin their Champions League campaign as well as enter the Carabao Cup on top of their Premier League commitments, so where is his rest?

England could rotate with Danny Welbeck and Marcus Rashford and Spurs have Son Heung-min returning from Asia games, but the allure of Kane’s potential to score is too great to warrant being replaced.