Chris Waddle believes England captain Harry Kane's body language bears a similarity to his and that leads to criticism and accusations that he's tired when he's not.
Kane has racked up three assists and one goal in the World Cup so far and earned the player of the match award for his part in England's 3-0 win against Senegal in the last 16 on Sunday. Despite his contribution to the team's four matches so far in Qatar, the Spurs striker has been on the end of some criticism for his displays.
Former Tottenham and England winger Waddle, who reached the World Cup semi-finals in 1990, hopes that Kane will now go on a goalscoring run after his strike at the weekend.
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"It normally happens with strikers. Once one goal goes in and they get off the mark, they can’t stop scoring. I hope that is the case with Harry Kane because if England are going to go all the way, we will need his goals," he told Lord Ping. "Harry Kane is a very unselfish football player. He is so important to the team and you know that if is given an opportunity, nine times out of ten he will take it."
On claims that the England captain might be tired after starting every match for Spurs in a busy schedule ahead of the tournament, Waddle dismissed that suggestion.
"I don’t agree with all the talk about him feeling tired. I was accused of the same thing for fifteen years - he isn’t tired, it’s his body language," he said. "Unfortunately, Harry has that body language and it's easy to point the finger at him if he isn’t performing in a game and say that he’s tired. Harry Kane is super fit. He’s a big presence and a leader for England.
"Harry links the play beautifully. People complain about him not being in the box enough, but he’s always dropped deep throughout his career and he’s scored plenty of goals throughout it. I don’t think he’s done a lot wrong in an England shirt and I think it's completely wrong when people blame his lack of presence in the box when England lose. Now he’s off the mark, hopefully he will go on a run. "
England now face France in the quarter-finals on Saturday and Waddle is expecting a fast start from Kylian Mbappe & Co but also believes that they are a team that can be beaten.
"I expect France to come out of the blocks quickly. They seem to score a goal and sit back a little, but I do think that they look vulnerable at the back," he said. "England will need to start the game much quicker than they did against Senegal. They can’t afford to wait and figure out what France can do in the game or present them with any opportunities because with the quality that they have, they will take them.
"It would take a massive effort for England to come back from being two or three down against France, so we will be cautious, but we need to be at it from the first whistle. I think England have been guilty of trying to work teams out in games rather than trusting their ability, they should be looking to take the game to any opponent."
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