Wayne Rooney has backed Harry Kane to perform in England’s Round of 16 match against Senegal tomorrow evening.
The former Manchester United striker remains England’s all-time top goalscorer (53), a record which Kane is only two goals away from levelling.
Despite his prolific goalscoring ability at club and international level, Kane is yet to hit the back of the net in Qatar this tournament. The Three Lions have netted nine goals in total – but none have come from their No.9.
The 29-year-old picked up the Golden Boot at the 2018 World Cup after reaching the semi-final with Kane in outstanding form throughout the competition. Nowadays, he tends to drop into more of a false nine position and looks to set up his teammates more rather than taking the chances on solely.
The captain has started all three matches so far and will start tomorrow in England’s must-win clash.
Rooney expects Kane to shine against Senegal
Rooney has backed his fellow forward to be the catalyst for the national team tomorrow. Speaking in The Times, he said: “Harry Kane is made for these games. The games that are tighter, where the pressure is higher, where the football has to be more calculated – they are where Harry steps up. He hasn’t scored in the tournament yet but I think there will be a shift in his mindset. He’ll think, ‘right, it’s on me now to make sure we progress’, and I think this is when he’ll come alive.”
He added: “Gareth’s other forwards are talented but no one has Harry’s consistency. He is always calm and composed and he doesn’t let misses bother him. Failing to score in the group stage won’t affect him like at Euro 2016, where you could see frustration. I reckon this will be more like Euro 2020 when we had similar conversations about his lack of goals in the group stage – and then he started scoring.”