Manchester United legend Gary Neville has explained why England manager Gareth Southgate cannot afford to drop Harry Kane for the 2024 European Championship (EURO 2024) final against Spain on Sunday night, Jul 14. Neville believes Kane is the obvious leader of the Three Lions and dropping him for the biggest game of the tournament would be bad for morale.
With Kane failing to live up to his lofty standards in EURO 2024, fans and a few pundits have advised Southgate to drop the Bayern Munich man from his first XI. The calls have only grown louder since Ollie Watkins scored the winner in England’s 2-1 victory over the Netherlands in the semi-finals. A section of England supporters believe Wakins should get the nod ahead of Kane for the EURO 2024 final against Spain.
Neville Says Southgate Can’t Drop England Captain Kane For EURO 2024 Final
Speaking to Sky Sports, Neville discussed the Kane issue, explaining why Southgate would not make the mistake of dropping the most influential player in the dressing room.
He said (via Metro):
“Harry Kane is someone, ultimately at this moment in time, who will not be dropped by Gareth Southgate.
“I know there is a sense that people think we are better without him, but it wouldn’t send a great message to the squad internally. He’s very clearly their leader and Southgate has full, total faith in him.”
Neville added:
“And I also think if you’re the opposition team, he is England’s talisman. He’s the man who has gone over to Germany this year and has ripped it up from a goalscoring perspective.
“So I think the Spanish team on Sunday, who are a fantastic team, are looking at our teamsheet and thinking that Kane is going to start. And in previous games in Ivan Toney and what Ollie Watkins did, we’ve got brilliant players to come off the bench and be able to disrupt a game that is not going well for England.”
Despite not being at his best, Kane has scored thrice in EURO 2024 (1 penalty), emerging as the competition’s joint-top scorer. He has also created five chances, delivered nine accurate long balls, and won 26 duels.
