England manager Gareth Southgate hailed the impact of Harry Kane following the Three Lions’ 6-1 World Cup rout of Panama on Sunday, saying that he wouldn’t swap the Tottenham striker for anyone. Kane bagged a hat-trick in Nizhy Novgorod as England made it two wins from two in Russia and sealed their place in the last-16. The goals, two penalties and a fortunate deflection, mean Kane now tops the golden boot standings with five from two matches.
After the game, Southgate was quick to praise Kane, who had spoken pre-tournament about his desire to use the World Cup to announce himself on the global stage. “Clearly the stage to do that is this one,” said Southgate. “He’s started brilliantly. The penalty … you can dismiss penalties as easy, but the length of time he had to wait and the number of distractions which made him refocus and start again; that tells you about the mental toughness he has got.
“He’s there in the scoring charts. He’s up at the top. We wouldn’t swap him for anyone in the tournament in terms of No 9s because you know that, when he gets opportunities, he’ll bury them. “Just as important is the way he presses, holds the ball up, contributes to the overall game, and sacrifices himself for the team.” Kane also earned plaudits from fans online.