Tottenham Hotspur’s Harry Kane made the headlines this week, but not for his actions in a Spurs shirt, but as England captain.
The Tottenham academy graduate took to the pitch against Bulgaria wearing the armband with a point to prove after the disappointing defeat to the Czech Republic just days earlier.
However, the England team came away proving an entirely different, but more important point to a disgusting group of Bulgarian fans in the stadium.
The game was stopped on two occasions after reports of racist chanting from sections of the home crowd, with the Three Lions players reporting the abuse straight to Harry Kane.
Kane and Southgate then took the issue up with the matchday officials to follow the new UEFA protocols, with the Spurs man remaining calm and professional throughout.
England decided to play on and let their football do the talking, silencing the haters with a dynamic 6-0 win, with Kane assisting three, scoring one, and creating another.
Pochettino spoke of his pride for Kane today (Football London): “I’m going to respect players always. The way Harry behaved was top, the way he handled the situation on Monday was exemplary, showed calm, followed the rules. We’re so proud of how he behaved. But of course when you’re on the touchline you need to understand the players always have rights and it’s difficult to be in their position, know how they feel when they suffer abuse like this. That’s why I will always support my players.
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“Harry handled everything perfectly, I want to congratulate him. He was calm, the situation was always under control. He showed great maturity in these situations which are not always easy to manage.
“He’s become a natural leader. He’s great. His commitment, not only for Tottenham, but the national team. It’s fantastic for England and Tottenham. We will miss Hugo for a few months and to have Harry to step up is important, like others who are important and mature. They will step up and handle problems when they happen like this. It’s good to see how he behaved and of course, he showed great maturity.”
Spurs Web Opinion:
I think everyone associated with Spurs was proud of Kane on Monday and everyone in football would have been proud of how the England boys went about their business. Having Kane stepping in as captain while Lloris is out injured could be a blessing in disguise.
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