Gareth Southgate defends Harry Kane after repetitive criticism

England manager Gareth Southgate has ignored questions over Harry Kane’s form, claiming his captain faces a repetitive cycle of criticism that he inevitably suffered. Harry has been substituted in England’s first two Euro 2020 group-stage fixtures, with the Spurs striker’s sub-par performances leading to Gareth facing questions over whether he would consider dropping Harry Kane.

The manager said, “I think the only relevant thing is what I’ve said already this week, Harry’s importance to the team – he’s been our best player, our most influential player, our most important player for a long period.  There have been moments where the likes of Raheem have probably had periods where he’s been critical for our success as well in terms of the goalscoring, but Harry has consistently been our top goalscorer, his record since I’ve been in charge is phenomenal and he’s a hugely important figure for us.”

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He further said, “I think it’s the world of a big player. Throughout the time I’ve been England manager, I must have managed these sorts of questions about harry in three or four different periods, and inevitably he’s come through those periods and scored an important goal for us and played exceptionally well. So it’s a bit of a repetitive cycle.”