LONDON: Manager Gareth Southgate has named top scorer Harry Kane as England’s captain for the World Cup finals in Russia.

Southgate said: “Harry has some outstanding personal qualities. He is a meticulous professional and one of the most important things for a captain is that they set the standard every day.

“He has belief and high standards and it is a great message for the team to have a captain who has shown that it is possible to be one of the best in the world over a consistent period of time and that has been his drive.

“My feeling is that over the last 18 months in the camps that he’s been with us he has shown that he has got the desire to take that into a team environment and he recognises the importance of bringing others with him.

“Of course, Harry will need the support of the other good leaders that we have got around him. You don’t become a top team by just having a good captain with good values because that has got to spread right throughout the group but I think he is the one who is ready to take that challenge on.”

Kane, 24, who has 12 goals from 23 appearances, first captained the Three Lions during last summer’s World Cup qualifier in Scotland before going on to wear the armband on a further three occasions.

Prior to bursting on to the senior scene with a goal just 79 seconds into his debut in 2015, the reigning Vauxhall England Player of the Year represented his nation at U17, U19, U20 and U21 level.

################