Gareth Southgate has opted to chop and change his captains for the England fold in recent outings and an element of rotation has arisen yet again as to whom will lead the Three Lions into battle in their world cup qualifiers against Slovenia and Lithuania. Tottenham Hotspur's Harry Kane was selected to sport the armband on Thursday evening, as Southgate scours his squad to find Wayne Rooney's permanent successor.
Kane, after a slow August for his club domestically, has once again found his form in-front of the target and has effortlessly netted 13 goals in his last 8 appearances during September's schedule, with his domineering prowess on the pitch for Spurs presumably being recognised as a distinguished strength of his, thus leading him to be nominated as the country's next temporary skipper on Wednesday.
Will be incredibly proud to lead @England out at Wembley tomorrow. Huge game. #ThreeLions #WorldCup 🦁🦁🦁 pic.twitter.com/0zPEWkbFsZ
— Harry Kane (@HKane) 4 October 2017
Proud
There's simply no greater honour in the professional game than captaining your country, and Kane certainly understands the magnitude of the responsibility he finds on his shoulders on the eve of England's first tie with Slovenia at Wembley. Securing 3-points on Thursday will ensure that England qualify for the 2018 World Cup in Russia, though the 24-year-old refuses to let the occasion get the better of him on the pitch, and will enter proceedings with an air of complete composure.
Speaking to the media - via a report provided by the Evening Telegraph - the elated and elected attacker said gleefully: "Having an armband on your arm doesn't make any difference to how you play and if you score goals or not,
"It makes me very proud.
Growing up as a kid you dream about playing for your country and being captain as well. Walking out at Wembley will be an amazing thing for me, personally.
"I'll just go out there and do my best for the team, try and score goals and win the match."
Gareth Southgate has confirmed that @HKane will captain the #ThreeLions for #ENGSVN.
— England (@England) 4 October 2017
Be there: https://t.co/aYXMlv96wX pic.twitter.com/31CNtqfIuK
Invaluable
Southgate will need to implement a sense of identity within the fold before next summer's tournament, and appointing an undisputed commander on the turf beforehand would supposedly be at the top of his agenda.
However, the former England U21 manager does not appear to be flustered by the relative conundrum, insisting that Kane's presence in the team is "invaluable", as the pair also worked together closely for the Young Lions set-up.
"His leadership qualities are invaluable to us as a team," the 47-year-old claimed.
"I've known him a long time and he's improving and maturing all the time.
"There's a lot of things that make a good captain. That won't happen overnight. It comes over a long period of time, but we have several people who can step into the fold."