ODDS ON ENGLAND ARE
From Back Page goals in two games as England clinched their place in the last 16 with the destruction of Panama.
Kane is now the tournament’s leading scorer and boss Southgate saluted the striker.
He said: “We wouldn’t swap him for anyone in terms of No.9s. You know when he gets opportunities he’ll bury them.
“He’s up there, right at “HANG on a minute, we’ve got half a chance here”.
True, Terry Butcher could not be any more English if he dressed in a suit made entirely from roast beef and smeared himself in Coleman’s mustard.
But even so, yesterday morning, a couple of hours before his beloved Three Lions kicked off in Nizhny Novgorod, Butcher hit the nail on the head on behalf of his country.
Of course, they can’t help themselves. After an unusually low-key build-up England expects all over again and the trouble is this time they may very well have every reason to.
Hammering six goals past Panama does not make Gareth Southgate’s side world beaters but the truth is this World Cup in Russia is so wide open it feels as if the big lump of glorious gold is almost winking in their direction, beckoning them to step forward and claim it for their own.
Had France or Brazil or even the Germans looked more like their old selves then we could all feel a lot more comfortable right now, safe in the knowledge one of them would eventually get in England’s way.
But two games in the French still looked strangely disjointed, Brazil have only played for six minutes of injury time against Costa Rica and the defending champions are hanging on by their fingernails after Saturday night’s late salvage job against Sweden. What’s more, not even Lionel Messi looks capable of making a decent team out of Argentina and there is no Italian or Dutch presence at these finals means England might be the very top. He’s very confident in his ability to convert chances.
“As important is the way he presses, holds the ball up, contributes to the game and sacrifices himself for the team.
“It’s lovely we could give people watching at home on a warm afternoon some goals to celebrate.
“They can see what we’re trying to do and the way we’re trying to play and enjoying our football.
“You don’t get many opportunities to play like that in a game for England.
“The players will have gained confidence from not only their own performances but watching the other games.
“We talked about taking lessons from the other matches, managing the scorelines and making good decisions.
“They can see they’re