RAHEEM’S TIME TO SHINE
Sterling steps out of Kane’s shadow to carry the fight
NO Harry Kane, no problem. Well, not quite, but england are finally proving they can cope without their talismanic captain.
That has not always been the case. The national team’s reliance on Kane is inescapable. Since the start of the 2018 World Cup, the Tottenham striker has scored 19 of england’s 61 goals.
He should have been awarded his 33rd international strike against Iceland on Saturday but his early effort was wrongly ruled out for offside.
yet, there are promising signs that england’s reliance on Kane is fading. raheem Sterling has scored 11 of those 61 england goals — and provided six assists — while Marcus rashford has notched seven.
That is not to diminish Kane’s importance — his influence on this team is obvious — but it is clear the national side are becoming adeptt atwinithout
winning matches without leaning so heavilyy on their no 1 striker. .
By the time e Sterling had d stroked home england’s winning penalty in Iceland, captain Kane had been substituted. and Gareth Southgate’s side e had also been en reduced to 10 men after Kyle Walker’s ker’s show of indiscipline. ine.
yet they managedd tot stumble t over the over the line, albeit courtesy of Birkir Bjarnason’s woeful penalty miss just moments after Sterling had successfully converted his spot-kick.
How they won is neither here nor there — it never is when england play. and this was only the third time in three years that they had won a competitive game without Kane scoring. ‘Harry is a supreme goalscorer and he is critical to the way we play,’ said Southgate. ‘equally, we have some tremendous threats which will be clear as the next few months develop, with raheem in particular. Jadon Sancho, Mason Mount coming through, Marcus rashford, of course,, at home (injured). ‘The nicenic thing is that we wowon’t be leaning just on Harry and I thithink goals can cocome from elsewhere. But he’s still a critical part of what we do.’ add Manchester United’s eUnited’s 18-year-old sstriker Mason GGreenwood, who mamade his international tioninternational debut in reykjreykjavik, to the equation and it is hard to disagree with Southgate’s thinking. The re- emergence of Southampton’s Danny Ings — scorer of 22 Premier League goals last season — as an international option could also be key for Southgate ahead of next summer’s european Championship. Kane’s lack of fitness following a quarantine- hit preseason was clear during the second half and it remains to be seen whether Southgate starts his captain against Denmark tomorrow.
If the manager does decide to rest his firstchoice striker, he will do so safe in the knowledge that he has viable alternatives.
none more so than Sterling, who is arguably surpassing Kane as england’s most influential player. When england needed a hero against Iceland, the Manchester City man stepped up.
He has been doing that with increasing regularity in an england shirt. Southgate said: ‘I can’t speak highly enough of him, really. It would have been very easy to have another few days on the beach, not report for international duty, get himself right for his club at the beginning of the season.
‘But his mentality the whole week has been exceptional: desperate to be here, desperate to play, desperate to stay on. I thought he carried the fight when we went down to 10 men.
‘He took the responsibility of the penalty and I thought it was outstanding character throughout. His desire to win and succeed is exceptional.
‘along with Kevin De Bruyne, he was the outstanding player in the Champions League game when Manchester City went out (against Lyon last month), and he’s just been relentless.
‘His hunger to score, his hunger to win things, his hunger to drive himself, you really can’t underestimate that. It has a massive impact on everybody around him and really has taken his game to another level.’
Southgate has turned his attention to tomorrow’s game in Copenhagen. He will freshen up