HARRY RESCUES WOEFUL ENGLAND
Skipper Kane leaves it late to seal place in the finals
HARRY KANE was the hero again as his last-gasp strike booked England’s place at the World Cup.
A sheepish, apologetic display for 90 minutes, that needed a brave intervention from an injured Joe Hart to deny Slovenia late on, was rescued when the Spurs striker popped up in the 94th minute.
The captain’s 14th in goal in his last nine appearances spared England the minor embarrassment of sidling into next summer’s tournament on the back of a disappointing stalemate.
But questions about the Three Lions’ readiness to make a mark in Russia were underlined.
They may now be able to book their flights but this listless display against a side ranked 55th in the world only underlines the work that needs to be done to stop next summer ending up like the last World Cup or Euro 2016.
Boss Gareth Southgate admitted it was a disappointing showing but said: “We played a team who have only conceded four in the competition, you could see why.
“We weren’t as sharp as we’d have hoped to be but we stuck at it and it’s not a coincidence if you keep scoring late goals.
“We know we have to be better but we’re going to a World Cup and that’s fantastic. This team has potential but we have a hell of a lot of work to do.”
Slovenia coach Srecko Katanec said: “Congratulations to England; they didn’t deserve to win but I send them good wishes for the World Cup.”
It can be downright painful to watch England, the performance and fans were flat, with the biggest cheer coming when the crowd started throwing paper planes.
A lack of quality was highlighted with Slovenia ace Josip Ilicic easily the best technical player on the pitch, picking passes England players couldn’t seem to find.
After a dreadful opening period, Marcus Rashford, Raheem Sterling and Kane had efforts at goal in quick succession.
But Slovenia might have gone in ahead had the Belgian referee taken a different view when Hart appeared to clip Ilicic’s heels.
With 26 minutes gone, England pieced together a rare incisive move in the opposition box.
Ryan Bertrand played his part creating space and Jordan Henderson drove at goal, opening his body and aiming at the far post, where Atletico Madrid keeper Jan Oblak pulled off a fine diving save.
A foul by the feisty Rene Krhin offered England a free-kick 20 yards from goal but Kyle Walker – an unexpected taker in front of Kane or even Eric Dier – failed to bring his attempt under the bar.
The ball eventually found its way into the net when Gary Cahill leapt to nod towards the far corner but Sterling had been penalised.
Rashford mustered one more save before the break, punching a low, wobbling free-kick at the base of goal, with Oblak scrambling before getting firmly in the way.
You kept expecting England to step up a gear but they couldn’t seem to find it. Rashford wasted a big opening after Sterling put him through and the Manchester City man then had an effort cleared off the line by Bostjan Cesar.
England’s biggest let off came in the 83rd minute when Hart raced out to block sub Tim Matavz.
Such a ponderous performance tested fans’ patience, but those that waited around finally had a moment to enjoy in stoppage time when Walker’s right wing cross found Kane and he rather messily deflected the ball past Oblak.
The players went onto the pitch at the final whistle to try to soak up the applause for reaching the World Cup. Embarrassingly, the stadium was virtually empty as the fans had seen enough.
It really was that bad.