Toby: Plenty more to come from Kane
Toby Alderweireld got the better of Tottenham clubmate Harry Kane when the pair crossed paths in Saint Petersburg on Saturday.
But he believes that the striker’s World Cup starring role is “just the beginning”.
Kane’s six goals in Russia have clinched the Golden Boot, though the England captain was shut out for the third game in a row as Belgium sealed a 2-0 win in the thirdplace play-off.
Spurs’ Belgian defender Alderweireld had nothing but good things to say for his club colleague though.
“I think Harry is one of the best strikers in the world, of course he is,” he said.
“He’s an all-round player. He’s not just scoring goals, he’s helping the team play better.
“The only thing he didn’t do is score against Belgium so that’s a positive for us!
“But he is a wonderful player and still very young as well, people forget that. He has the desire to be one of the best, maybe the best, and this is just the beginning I think.”
Alderweireld also claimed bragging rights over Spurs midfielder Eric Dier, sliding to clear his goalbound chip off the line with the match delicately poised at 1-0.
It was England’s best move of the night, with Dier desperately close to providing a memorable finish. “I spoke to him after, I said ‘I’m sorry. I’m sorry’,” said Alderweireld.
“It was very good play from him, he did everything perfectly but unfortunately for him I was in the right place.”
Belgian boss Roberto Martinez hopes their best-ever World Cup can be the catalyst to even bigger things.
“We wanted to win it,” he said. “When you beat Brazil and get into the semi-final, the focus has to be to try to win the World Cup. But you need to be realistic when you finish the tournament and look back.
“These players made history back in Belgium and that’s all that matters.”