England look to red-hot Harry

RUSSIA 2018: SOUTHGATE’S MEN EYE WORLD CUP SPOT

Spurs striker gives team-mates extra sense of belief.

London

England will look to redhot Tottenham Hotspur striker Harry Kane to fire them to the World Cup finals when they tackle Slovenia in their penultimate qualifying match tonight.

After a barren August, 24-yearold Kane hit brilliant form in September, scoring 13 goals in eight matches for club and country.

Victory over Slovenia at Wembley will give England a place at next year’s World Cup in Russia and with Kane scoring goals so freely, his team-mates will take to the field buoyed by an extra measure of belief.

“He is hot, isn’t he?” goalkeeper Joe Hart said to journalists at England’s St George’s Park base earlier this week.

“He is scoring just as many goals as the people we have related to as world-class and he has been doing it for many seasons.

“He has (Mauricio) Pochettino, one of the hottest managers in the world, who regards him highly and there are reasons for that.

“Harry is just brilliant at what he does and he is just one of the best out there.

“He keeps scoring goals and you cannot ask for any more than that. Long may it continue in an England shirt.”

Since Kane returned to the international fold at the end of last season following a spate of injuries, his goals have helped to keep Gareth Southgate’s England side on course for qualification.

His equaliser prevented England from falling to a first defeat against Scotland since 1999 in June’s 2-2 draw in Glasgow and he netted twice as Southgate’s men won 4-0 away to Malta last month.

Kane’s Spurs team-mate Dele Alli is unavailable due to suspension after being given a one-match ban by Fifa for flashing his middle finger during England’s 2-1 win over Slovakia last month.

While Slovenian captain Bostjan Cesar is conscious of the threat posed by Kane and his team-mates, he says his team will approach the game with no sense of inferiority.

“I saw Kane is in great form, but England have several other quality players too,” said Cesar, whose side complete their qualifying campaign at home to Scotland on Sunday. – AFP

Picture: Reuters CHIT CHAT. Sir Bobby Charlton speaks with England striker Harry Kane during the unveiling of the Sir Bobby Charlton pitch before training at St George’s Park in Burton-upon-Trent this week.