Pundit Chris Sutton has defended Tottenham Hotspur striker Harry Kane from his critics after an impressive display for England at the weekend.
On Saturday, Gareth Southgate’s men booked a quarter-final clash with France after beating Senegal 3-0 thanks to a goal from the Spurs star and two others from Jordan Henderson and Bukayo Saka.
However, at times during this World Cup, he has been criticised. For instance, Paul Merson suggested Kane should have dropped himself during the group stages due to a perceived lack of fitness.
Despite this, Sutton defended the Tottenham forward while speaking live on BBC Radio 5’s 606 show after the win, claiming he’s just so ‘important’ to England.
In full, he said: “The negativity towards Kane, it seems to rear its ugly head every now and again.
“Gareth Southgate is never going to drop Harry Kane, but I don’t actually understand how he gets the criticism, why he gets the criticism.
“He’s such an important player within the England team, isn’t he? Not just his goals, but his all-round play.”
TIF Thoughts on Harry Kane and Spurs…
To be fair to Sutton, it’s hard to fault Kane and his displays for England after his most recent performance, where he led England into the World Cup quarter-final with a man-of-the-match performance.
On top of that, his goal against Senegal was also the goal which means that no other Three Lions star has scored more than him at major tournaments.
Taking all that into account, it’s safe to say any criticism of Kane in an England shirt does seem pretty harsh. Still, he will be judged on the most important moments, and with France next up at the World Cup, the captain and his teammates will have to be at their very best if they want to progress into the semi-finals.
If they lose, no doubt the critics will come out once more looking for someone to blame.
Do you think Harry Kane has deserved any criticism for his World Cup displays?
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