Football

World Cup 2022: Older brother Kane relishing playing with youthful Three Lions stars

December 6, 2022 8:00 pm

Youngsters Bukayo Saka, Phil Foden, and Jude Bellingham have featured regularly for Gareth Southgate at Qatar 2022. This has left 29-year-old Harry Kane feeling old leading the Three Lions’ cause. 

Harry Kane

Southgate’s punt paid off in their 3-0 win over Senegal as England kept a clean sheet for a third successive match adding to their goals tally

The England captain has seen older compatriots Marcus Rashford and Jack Grealish warm the bench, and feels at ease around the younger English stars. Kane opened his goals account in the competition in their midst and likened himself to an ‘older brother’ amongst them. 

Bellingham and Saka have featured regularly for the Three Lions while Foden has only received prominence after Sterling’s early return to England. Kane was pleased with the fearless displays of the young trio who make their team more dynamic given their youthful exuberance. 

“It’s great to see, there’s no bigger stage to go and do it,” said Kane, 29.

“These guys are fearless, they want to just play football and express themselves. I feel like we’ve got a great mix of experience and youth and when you look at the teams who have won big tournaments that’s what they’ve had.

“To see the boys play how they’re playing I’m almost like a proud older brother. It’s great to see and that’s what we need: to go into games with the mentality of ‘we’re going to give it everything we’ve got’.”

Leader Henderson is outstanding

To balance the naivete of their youthful stars, England has experienced internationals like Jordan Henderson to call upon. As it stands, Henderson is the second-oldest in their ranks with Kyle Walker a couple of months senior. 

The Liverpool captain has found limited minutes on his Qatar trip but his leadership skills have helped the group go from strength to strength. Kane hailed the midfielder’s impact when called upon and believes his experience has helped them prepare for their challenges.

“Hendo is one of the best leaders I’ve played with,” Kane remarked. “He’s really vocal, he pushes players to the absolute max. That’s why he’s been great. In the games he’s played he’s been outstanding with the ball, outstanding without the ball and pushing everyone.

“The way we’ve been pressing, it’s good to hear him behind me, pushing. That’s what you need, you need different types of leaders amongst the team.

“That’s what we have. Hendo is someone who, it doesn’t matter who you are or what you’ve done, he’ll keep pushing you and against Senegal it was an amazing performance by him.”

Jordan Henderson
England’s Jordan Henderson applauds the fans at the end of the match during the FIFA World Cup Round of Sixteen match at the Al-Bayt Stadium in Al Khor, Qatar. Picture date: Sunday December 4, 2022. – Photo by Icon sport

England takes on the challenge of France in the quarter-finals on December 10 at Al Bayt Stadium. While not plagued by injury problems, Raheem Sterling will be missed as the Chelsea man is back in England after an armed robbery at his residence. 

Given Foden’s inspired performance against Senegal, Southgate has a selection headache on his hands. Rashford and Gralish are also in line to start but it looks likely that the England manager will likely rule in the Manchester City starlet to support Kane and Saka in leading their attack. 

Subscribe to Punditfeed on Google News for all the latest updates from the world of sports!