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England hat-trick hero Harry Kane 'irreplaceable', says Southgate
Gareth Southgate insisted he would not swap Harry Kane for anybody after the striker became only the third England player to score a World Cup hat-trick and fired himself to the top of the scoring charts at this year’s tournament.
Kane’s treble helped England to thrash Panama 6-1 and move to the top of Group G ahead of Belgium, clinching a place in the last-16 in the process.
The England captain now has five goals in the World Cup, one more than Cristiano Ronaldo and Romelu Lukaku who both have four.
“He’s up at the top,” said England manager Southgate. “We wouldn’t swap him for anyone in the tournament in terms of number nines. You know that when he gets opportunities he’ll bury them.
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“Clearly the stage to do that is this one. He’s started brilliantly. The first penalty, you can dismiss penalties to be easy, but the length of time he had to wait, and the number of distractions which made him refocus and start again, that tells you about the mental toughness he has got.
“He’s very confident in his ability to convert chances. As important is the way he presses, holds the ball up, contributes to the overall game and sacrifices himself for the team.”
Only Geoff Hurst, in the 1966 final, and Gary Lineker, against Poland in 1986, had previously scored hat-tricks for England at the World Cup.
Asked whether his treble represented one of the best moments of his life, Kane replied: “For sure, it’s one to be proud of. Not many players score a hat-trick in the World Cup, so I’m extremely proud of that.”
Two of Kane’s goals came from the penalty spot and his third was courtesy of a Ruben Loftus-Cheek shot that deflected off his boot.
“The first penalty, I have a routine,” said Kane. “I put the ball down about three times. It’s about getting in the zone. I practise them a lot, so it’s about picking the corner and putting it in. The third was one of the luckiest of my career. Sometimes it doesn’t fall for you, but that one did. Hopefully it continues.”
In terms of winning the Golden Boot and the overall performance of the team against Panama, Kane added: “There’s still a long way to go. The most important thing is winning games and if my goals help my team win, then that’s the perfect situation. There are a lot of good players just behind me. Hopefully, I can just continue and take it into Thursday’s game against Belgium.
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“The way we played against Panama, the discipline, the hard work. We had fun out there as well, which is important. It’s not every time you go through after two games, so we’re happy with that.”
Southgate must decide how many players he rests against Belgium, but it is well aware it would be difficult to ask Kane to sit out of a game while he is in such good form.
“I want to play, I want to continue the form I’m in,” said Kane. “But whatever decision the gaffer makes we’ll get behind. It’s important we finish top. We’re ahead by a yellow card, but we want to go and try to win the game and take the momentum into the knockout stages.”
Southgate said: “I was pleased the captain got his hat-trick because he had the hump less when I brought him off!
“I think that’s what we’ve got to do over the next 36 hours or so, to decide what our priority is. For me, the harmony of the group is high on that list.
“I think we’ve had good performances against Costa Rica with a different 11 who played against Nigeria. I have complete trust in all the players.
“We look a bit different because of the profile of players in certain positions, but I know we’ll get a high level of performance. At this moment my thoughts are with the players who haven’t played as much, but I have to consider everything before I decide upon my team.”
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Kieran Trippier had his right thigh strapped after being replaced by Danny Rose, while Dele Alli is hoping to be fit in time to return from his thigh problem to face Belgium.
“Kieran felt a tiny twinge before half-time, but then said he was fine,” said Southgate. “We weren’t prepared to take a chance, so we got him off.
“Dele is progressing well. He hasn’t trained on the field today, so he had a different sort of session. We’ll know how close after tomorrow, (Monday) for Belgium, I guess. We’re pleased with the progress. It takes pressure out of the decision over whether to play him, but is also another opportunity for him to play in that game.”
On his own shoulder, which he dislocated after falling on a run, Southgate added: “It’s well strapped and is fine. I wasn’t going to stand with a sling on my bloody arm, that was for certain.”
