Harry Kane Named England Captain for World Cup
England manager Gareth Southgate has named Harry Kane as the new England Captain, with the Tottenham Hotspur striker having seen off competition from the likes of Jordan Henderson and Eric Dier in order to claim the honour. Kane has recovered from being one of the main targets following England’s famous loss to Iceland at Euro 2016 in France to leading the side in Russia this summer, with the striker having been tipped as an outsider to claim the golden boot award.
Having scored 30 Premier League goals this season, as well as 12 goals from 23 international appearances, bookmaker William Hill offers odds of 16/1 for Kane to score the most goals in Russia. Manager Southgate had previously shared the captaincy following his appointment as boss following the departure of Sam Allardyce, with Liverpool skipper Henderson having previously been viewed as the favourite to earn the position on a full-time basis.
Although Southgate has played down the importance of the captaincy position on a regular basis, instead hoping that his squad will be full of leaders, Kane has stated his delight at the appointment, with the striker having regularly led Spurs in the Premier League. With England currently preparing for their 15th World Cup, few are expecting the Three Lions to mount a serious challenge in Russia. However, Kane has already stated that anything other than winning is not good enough, which is certainly a major statement from the new skipper.
Kane is likely to start when England take on Nigeria in a World Cup warm-up match at Wembley next week, with the home side being 8/13 favourites to defeat the Super Eagles – for odds and more info’s check bettingsites.ng. After this match, England will take on Costa Rica at Elland Road, before flying to Russia. Having been drawn in Group H, England will then get their World Cup campaign underway with a match against Tunisia in Volgograd on the 18th June.
England are the 16/1 with Ladbrokes to claim their first World Cup since 1966, however the prospect of Kane lifting the trophy come the end of the tournament is seemingly a long way off at this stage, with Southgate having seen his side held to a draw by Italy last time around, with the Azzurri having failed to qualify for the Finals for the first time in their history.
Kane is just one of five Tottenham Hotspur players in the England squad this summer, with Kieran Trippier, Eric Dier, Danny Rose and Dele Alli all seen as potential starters for their opening encounter with Tunisia.