HARRY THE HERO
But it’s far from plane sailing as Kane books ticket to World Cup
ENGLAND were pelted with paper planes by their own irate supporters despite Harry Kane booking their place at next summer’s World Cup finals.
Gareth Southgate challenged England’s ‘suffering’ players to stand up to the Wembley boo boys after his side scraped past Slovenia 1-0 and limped to Russia 2018. What should have been a euphoric night turned into a farce as supporters made their illfeeling towards England’s lacklustre performance crystal clear.
The team were booed at regular intervals, while some jeered when goalkeeper Joe Hart was announced
as man of the match. Bored fans threw paper planes on to the pitch, which drew some of the game’s biggest cheers. On a night when Scotland beat Slovakia 1-0 to raise hopes of a play-off place, thousands left Wembley well before the end, missing Kane’s injury-time winner. The team were left to celebrate qualification in front of a largely empty stadium, but Southgate urged the players to use it as motivation. ‘We were very aware of it (the crowd). But, in this job and in terms of playing for England, you’ve got to be resilient. Stick to your beliefs and stay together as a group. We’re in the business of winning, and we have to keep winning. We’d love everyone to be fully supportive and right behind us. But we have to give the performances that give hope and encouragement. ‘The players are suffering the consequences of 25 years, 30 years, 40 years whatever, but that isn’t their fault.’ England’s flat display came on a day when FA chief executive Martin Glenn called the players ‘brittle’. He said: ‘England players do not travel well. They do not tend to play abroad, their familiarity with international camps is not that great. And so we know there is a brittleness in unfamiliar circumstances which we have to deal with. You have to work at it.’ The FA have confirmed two showpiece Wembley friendlies against Germany (Friday, November 10) and Brazil (Tuesday, November 14).