VLAD IS FAN OF HARRY’S SWEET TALK
HARRY KANE’S goalscoring spoke for itself at this summer’s World Cup.
But it was his attitude off the pitch that impressed Switzerland boss Vladimir Petkovic – and illustrated the real strength of this England side.
Kane (below) became the first English winner of the Golden Boot in 32 years in Russia.
And his six goals took England to the brink of their first World Cup final since 1966.
It was his interaction with the world’s media after England’s 6-1 thumping of Panama, though, that Petkovic believes singled him out as the perfect ambassador for his country.
“I don’t like to pick out one player in a team but if you want me to give you one from this England side, it would be Harry Kane – and the reason is his attitude.,” he says.
“After scoring three goals against Panama, he was asked to do nine TV interviews afterwards.
“The Swiss FIFA press officer was wary of asking him to do so many.
“But Harry said ‘I am proud to play for my country – and now I’m proud to talk for my country.
“What can you say? Just a great guy. Just a great
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“He (Kane) isn’t the only one with this attitude,” says Petkovic.
“Some people might not see this kind of thing as being an important part of the job.
“But I think it tells you a lot about this England team – and why they are so strong.”
The Swiss are no mugs themselves and would have met Gareth Southgate’s side in the last eight of the competition had they not lost narrowly to Sweden in the first knock-out round.
That ended a campaign that had seen them hold Brazil to a 1-1 draw in their tournament opener.
“Including the World Cup, we’ve only lost two matches out of 25,” he says. “One of them was away to European Champions Portugal and the other was that defeat to Sweden.
“We have gone through the group stages of major competitions three times in a row as well.”
The Swiss will boast Premier League stars, Xherdan Shaqiri, of Liverpool, and Granit Xhaka, of Arsenal, for the friendly at Leicester on Tuesday.
And Petkovic hopes their experience of English football can help his side spring a surprise.
“They will hopefully come along with some inside knowledge of England’s players,” he says.