WORLD CUP COUNTDOWN
4 ........... Shots on Target ........ 4 5 ........... Shots off Target ........ 3 3 ............. Blocked Shots .......... 5 7 ................... Corners ................ 3 9 ..................... Fouls .................. 12 1 ................... Offsides ................ 4 1 ............... Yellow Cards ............ 1 0 ................. Red Cards .............. 0 85.2 ..... Passing Success.. 80.2 25 ................. Tackles .............. 20 56 .......... Tackles Won % ....... 65 58.6 .......... Possession ......... 41.4 54 .... Territorial Advantage.46 554 ......... Total Passes ........ 389 15 ............ Total Crosses .......... 10 64.7 ......... 1st Half Poss ....... 35.3 52.7 ........ 2nd Half Poss ...... 47.3 HARRY KANE will have to find a way to beat better keepers than Francis Uzoho this summer if England are to get anywhere at the World Cup.
But it’s a challenge the Three Lions striker will relish after maintaining his impressive record of scoring each time he captains his country with the winner against Nigeria.
His effort here at Wembley was his fifth goal in as many games wearing the armband but his first since boss Gareth Southgate confirmed he was the chosen one who would lead the nation in Russia.
There was plenty of good fortune about his strike – only Uzoho will know what he was playing at as he dived over the ball which went in off his legs.
But like all good goal-scorers the only thing that will matter to Kane is that the ball found its way over the line.
Speaking of the captaincy before the game, he said: “It’s definitely a confidence boost.
Thumping
“Every game that I’ve captained England before I’ve managed to score in, so wearing the armband seems to be something I thrive off.”
He does, indeed, and let’s hope the tradition continues in Thursday’s final warm-up match against Costa Rica and beyond.
His goal added to Gary Cahill’s thumping early header and, although Alex Iwobi cut the deficit soon after the break, England held on for victory.
They were deserving of their win in a friendly designed to give them a taste of African opposition ahead of their Group G clash against Tunisia. Time will tell how beneficial it will be on that front, but in terms of keeping the legs ticking over it served its purpose.
Crucially, Southgate’s men all came through unscathed. Providing they can navigate their way safely past the men from the Central America this week, his first-choice 23 will all board the plane in good condition. England needed just seven minutes to take the lead against Gernot Rohr’s Super Eagles, Cahill rising superbly between former Tottenham youngster William Troost-ekong and ex-chelsea star John Obi Mikel to power home his header. And for the rest of the half it was one-way traffic as England turned it on. Chelsea’s Victor Moses took the pace off Raheem Sterling’s shot