England legend Alan Shearer has fired a warning to Tottenham Hotspur star Harry Kane ahead of the Three Lions’ World Cup opener.
Tottenham hero Kane will lead England against Tunisia on Monday night in the opening group game of the Russia World Cup with the weight of a country’s hopes on his shoulders.
Kane recently signed a new six-year contract extension at Spurs where he has enjoyed a meteoric rise to prominence under Mauricio Pochettino.
Regarded as one of the world’s top strikers Kane is the pride of Tottenham fans but is yet to truly win the hearts and minds of the England faithful.
Many supporters argue the extra burden of the captaincy is a pressure Kane could do without given his dreadful form at the last major tournament for England despite his phenomenal goalscoring feats for Spurs since.
Now on the eve of the World Cup opener, Premier League and England legend Alan Shearer – who also captained the national team as a striker – has fired a warning to Kane in The Sun that he must replicate his Tottenham form on the biggest stage of all AND not take the captaincy for granted.
“Don’t listen to those who argue that the role of an international captain is not important,” Shearer told The Sun.
“Harry Kane will already be realising just how big the job is. Let me tell you, it is far from symbolic. It was, without doubt, the greatest thrill of my career to lead the England team at a World Cup, as I did in 1998.
“But I didn’t just see the role as being the bloke who wears an armband and stands in the middle for the coin toss. Harry must make sure the squad is fully together and never take it for granted.
“Apart from being the leader, my principle task was to score goals and Harry will feel the same. It’s a huge World Cup for him, especially because of his performances in Euro 2016, where he didn’t really have a kick and was poor.
“Since then, he’s had two magnificent seasons but he hasn’t yet produced the goods at a major tournament. This is where he can really show he is one of the world’s best strikers.
“Everything in his game has improved over the last few seasons. Teams have tried to rough him up and that hasn’t worried him, either.
“But the most important thing is to lead on the pitch. When your team is in trouble, are you the man to step up? He’s done it for Spurs, now he has to do it for England in a tournament.”
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