Pundit names Liverpool and Spurs duo as the only world-class players in England squad

England booked their place in next summer’s Euro 2020 tournament having finished on top of Group A, six points ahead of the Czech Republic.

Despite the relatively comfortable qualifying campaign, former England defender Micah Richards has insisted that there are only two world-class players in the England team.

The former Manchester City and Aston Villa man was quick to label Tottenham striker Harry Kane as the stand out player in the team.

The Spurs forward continued his sensational form in the games against Montenegro and Kosovo, bringing his tally up to 32 goals for the Three Lions, just 21 short of Wayne Rooney’s all-time England record.

While Richards was full of praise for Harry Kane, he surprisingly named Liverpool midfielder Jordan Henderson as the only other player of a similar quality to Kane in the Three Lions squad.

Speaking to BBC Radio 5 Live Richards said: “Harry Kane is world-class. In midfield, there’s no other world, world-class midfielders.

“Henderson, you’d argue Henderson’s world-class, because of what he’s done and consistency and whatnot. He’s won a European Cup, he’s been consistent over the last three or four years. Yeah, it really is (hard to write off a Champions League-winning captain).

“You know what, I’m going to go with that statement, I’m going to say Henderson is world-class and a lot of the work that he does goes unnoticed because he’s not getting 10 assists a season or scoring 10 goals a season.

“I was referring to on the field but off the field as well. I’ve played with Henderson and he’s just an honest guy who would run through brick walls for you, he’s willing to improve, he wants the team to be at its best.”

With Henderson missing due to injury, Spurs midfielder Harry Winks started both qualifiers for England during the international break and put in impressive displays to stake his claim in the side.

Spurs Web Opinion

I believe Kane is by far and away the best player in the England set up. While he gets a lot of plaudits for his goalscoring prowess, I still believe the England captain’s all-round game is quite underrated. The only player who comes close to Kane in terms of ability in the England team at the moment is Raheem Sterling.

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