Gary Neville believes Harry Kane is the “greatest England player ever” and says the captain must start the Euro 2024 final Sunday despite increased competition and doubts over his fitness.
England are preparing for their first major tournament final on foreign soil against Spain this weekend, with Kane set to lead his nation out in Berlin.
But concerns over a pre-tournament back injury, plus impressive displays off the bench from semi-final hero Ollie Watkins and Ivan Toney, have raised some questions as to whether he is the right player to start up front against Spain.
That being said, Kane is still the joint-top scorer at these European Championships with three goals and has taken his tally of career international knockout stage goals to nine – which is more than any other European player in history.
And Neville believes Kane’s unerring ability to deliver for England will create fear in the Spain camp.
“I spoke to Wayne Rooney four or five weeks ago before the tournament started and he said Harry Kane is the greatest England player ever,” Neville told Sky Sports News. “That is massive praise from someone who has been around the block with England in Rooney.
“I wouldn’t fight to disagree with him either. Harry Kane has been absolutely sensational. I always called him gold when he was at Tottenham, you just know full well that he’s going to deliver for you. He’s a solid character.
“I think he’s obviously below his best in this tournament, it does look like he is carrying something and it wouldn’t surprise me at all if it emerged in a week or two that he’s had issues during the tournament with something that he’s trying to bandage up.
“You look at that [knockout] record now and some of the greatest goalscorers of all time are on that list, obviously Kylian Mbappe (who has eight knockout goals, the same number as Gerd Muller, Miroslav Klose and Antoine Griezmann) is seen as the best player in the world right now.
“Harry Kane is someone, ultimately at this moment in time, who will not be dropped by Gareth Southgate. I know there is a sense that people think we are better without him, but it wouldn’t send a great message to the squad internally. He’s very clearly their leader and Southgate has full, total faith in him.
“And I also think if you’re the opposition team, he is England’s talisman. He’s the man who has gone over to Germany this year and has ripped it up from a goalscoring perspective.
“So I think the Spanish team on Sunday, who are a fantastic team, are looking at our teamsheet and thinking that Kane is going to start. And in previous games in Ivan Toney and what Ollie Watkins did, we’ve got brilliant players to come off the bench and be able to disrupt a game that is not going well for England.”
‘You get a sense that England’s time is now’
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Gary Neville looks over England’s journey to the final of Euro 2024 and believes that ‘maybe the time is now’ in terms of winning the competition
The challenge of Spain – who are widely regarded as the most impressive team in the tournament through their performances – will be difficult, but Neville says England’s resilience in tough moments stands them in good stead.
“It’s going to be a brilliant game on Sunday. The fact we’re in there feels sensational,” he added. “Now it feels like – I don’t know if it’s written in the stars in this last 10 days with the last minute goals, nearly being 80 seconds out of going out of a tournament, Ollie Watkins coming on and scoring a last-minute winner – but all these things give you a feeling that something’s happening.
“They have to get through the game on Sunday, they can’t rely on that as players, but in sport sometimes you get a sense that maybe the time is now.
“It will be really tough. Before the tournament, there weren’t many people shouting about Spain. I certainly didn’t. They were fifth or sixth favourites.
“But from very early on in the tournament they’ve had the right balance in their team, they’ve had a consistency to them. The two central midfield players in Fabian Ruiz and Rodri are absolutely fantastic and have been outstanding.
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David Ornstein from The Athletic and the Daily Mail’s Riath Al-Samarrai discuss if ‘underdogs’ England can defeat favourites Spain in the Euro 2024 final?
“We’re going to have to work hard to stop that. All their attacks have been sourced through them and Gareth will be working on that with the players over the next few days.
“They have two outstanding wide players [in Lamine Yamal and Nico Williams] who are sensational. It will be really difficult. But the England team in this tournament have found a way, they have found a way to be able to navigate through the obstacles in their path.
“They will have to do that again on Sunday. But the Spanish have been the standout team during this tournament. And what I would say is we are starting to get better, gradually getting better in each game. We’re starting to grow, perform and see some of the habits and the performance levels that we’ve seen in Premier League matches.”