ENGLAND boss Gareth Southgate has confirmed misfiring striker Harry Kane will START the final Euro 2020 Group D game against the Czech Republic.
The Tottenham man and Three Lions captain has been hauled off in both the Croatia and Scotland games.
His performance, or lack of it, against the Auld Enemy was particularly concerning as Southgate’s troops slumbered to a 0-0 draw at Wembley.
But the gaffer has confirmed Kane will get the nod for the game against the Czechs.
Asked if Kane will keep his place in the team, Southgate answered: “You can assume that, absolutely. I don’t mind giving you that.”
The Three Lions boss then tried to explain why his star striker had been substituted in both Group D games.
He added: “In one of the games we were already ahead, we needed energy to press and to keep the lead, we didn’t need an additional goal.
“Harry during the World Cup ended playing a lot of football, we felt we needed to manage that load a little bit this time and we have some good options on the bench.”
Kane had just TEN first-half touches against Scotland while the Three Lions failed to record a shot on target before the break for the first time since a 0-0 friendly stalemate against Germany in November 2017.
It did not get any better for Kane after the break and he was replaced by Marcus Rashford as Gareth Southgate desperately chased a spark.
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But Southgate is confident the goals will return.
He added: “He is our most important player, there’s no doubt about that, have a look at his goalscoring record with us to see his importance to the team.
“He is fundamental not only to the goals he scores, but the build up play and everything else he brings.
“I know there will be questions about him, but he has been through this 100 times before.
“I’ve answered that in this role several times in the past, and he has come up with the goals to help us win games, and I expect that to be the case moving forward.”
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Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
