Liverpool midfielder Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain has heaped praise on Harry Kane following his stunning showing for England at the summer World Cup. The Tottenham Hotspur ace netted a match-winning brace during the 2-1 over Tunisia and he managed to follow it up with a hat-trick in the 6-1 mauling of Panama.
As a result, Kane is leading the Golden Boot race with five goals from just two matches and Oxlade-Chamberlain has praised his compatriot for leading from the front as the captain, he told TalkSPORT: “We all know how capable he is of scoring, but to take it to the World Cup is what all top goalscorers try to do. He’s on a great run of form at the moment and long may that continue in this tournament.He’s been brilliant leading the boys, not just vocally, but with his performances, which is massive.”
With wins over Tunisia and Panama, the Three Lions are already assured of their spot in the round of 16. However, they still have the opportunity to tussle for the first position with Belgium, though both teams are likely to make changes. The likes of Eden Hazard and Romelu Lukaku have picked up knocks which could potentially see them miss the Three Lions clash whilst Gareth Southgate may think of rotating the team to keep the players afresh for the knockouts.
Nevertheless, both sides would rather prefer to face the potentially weaker opposition which finishes second in Group H and the upcoming days should give a clear indication over their opponents. Japan, Senegal, and Colombia are presently the teams in Group H vying to reach the round of 16 but the latter may have a distinctive advantage of progressing further based on the momentum built up with a convincing 3-0 win over Robert Lewandowski’s Poland last weekend.
