IT’S THE WORLD’S HARDEST JOB
Vertonghen admits stopping red-hot Harry is daunting task
JAN VERTONGHEN admits that he will have his work cut out stopping Tottenham team-mate Harry Kane from continuing his World Cup goal glut.
England and Belgium meet on Thursday in a shoot-out to see which nation progresses into the last 16 as Group G winners.
Three Lions skipper Kane already has five goals in Russia to lead the race for the Golden Boot, with Belgium defender Vertonghen conceding it will be hard to prevent him from adding to that total.
Kane got a hat-trick in England’s 6-1 hammering of Panama and Vertonghen – who hailed the Three Lions as one of the favourites to win the World Cup – paid him the ultimate compliment. “I know Harry very well and I think he’s one of the best strikers in the world,” he said.
“It will be very hard to stop him, but I think we have the defenders in our team to stop him.
“He’s very ambitious, he’s a leader and he works on every aspect of his game. I think he’s a great player.
“We’ve got a great striker ourselves in Romelu Lukaku (below), so I’m happy with that, but Harry is obviously very good.
“He’s the image of the new England. I’m happy he’s doing well – hopefully not so well on Thursday – but I’m happy he’s part of the new England.
“He works very hard and he trains at least once or twice a week on both free-kicks and penalties. Routine is very important, but that doesn’t mean he’ll always score. He missed a penalty against Liverpool, but then scored one minutes later, because of his routine, by training so hard.” Vertonghen was impressed with England’s six-goal display against Panama and said they are genuine World Cup contenders. “It was our day off yesterday so I think 95 per cent of us didn’t see England play,” he added. “But I watched a bit and saw a couple of the goals. England, for me, are one of the most impressive teams in the tournament so far and one of the favourites to win it. “We have to keep in mind how they scored six of their eight goals so far – from set-pieces. That is something to be aware of. We all rate England very highly. We know their players. We see how ambitious they are and the way they celebrate their goals.”
Belgium boss Roberto Martinez said Kane’s prolific form had come as no surprise to him and said the Spurs forward had proved his worth over the past few seasons.
“Kane hasn’t surprised us,” he said. “We expected that level. Becoming England captain, he was ready for that responsibility and that role as a goalscorer.
“He’s one of the players who has come into the tournament in a very good moment of form.
“What he’s been doing at club level the last few years has been very consistent, and that’s something for us that is a really good test.
“If we can keep a player like Kane from scoring in a game, it’s because we have been focused and have done our defensive work well.”