England captain scored both goals in opening 2-1 win over Tunisia
Thursday 21 June 2018 21:21, UK
Gary Neville says Harry Kane is England's one truly world class player and would get into any other World Cup team.
Kane scored twice for England in their 2-1 victory over Tunisia in Monday's opening Group G game in Volgograd, having scored 41 goals in 48 games for Tottenham last season.
Sky Sports pundit Neville insists the biggest clubs in world football would be chasing Kane if he was available, and says the 24-year-old must have a good tournament alongside goalkeeper Jordan Pickford if England are to succeed.
"World class for me is defined by the question: would he get into any other team in the tournament? And I think he would. Other teams would have to find a place for him, he's that good," said the former England defender.
"There will be those who say: 'You've got to do more, how do you define world class?' But his performances in the last two years in the Premier League and performances for England, his stature, and the fact if he was made available for sale, every club in Europe would want him. That's Real Madrid, Man Utd, all the clubs with £100m would want him straight away.
"He's a stable character, strong mentally and capable of withstanding physical knocks. He's a brilliant player, and England have an outstanding, world-class striker.
"I've said from the start, Harry Kane and Jordan Pickford have to have good tournaments for England to do well at both ends.
"One young goalkeeper playing his first World Cup, and Harry Kane, who is England's world-class player. Scoring two goals in the first game is a big thing for him, and also for England."
Former England right-back Neville, who was part of the coaching staff at the 2014 World Cup and Euro 2016, did see areas of caution from the late win over Tunisia, as England prepare to face Panama on Sunday before their final group game with Belgium next week.
Neville also compared England's attacking style of play to Liverpool's, but is wary that expending that energy early in games has a knock-on impact.
"Areas of caution? I suppose missing chances in the first half. I think England will always be stronger in the first 50-60 minutes of a match, because of the way we play.
"A little bit of a mirror of Liverpool in some ways in that the energy of the team is immense. Dele Alli and Jesse Lingard's runs into the box in the first half, particularly the amount of players we had in the box, sometimes four or five.
"To keep getting in the box and then back to defend, it takes your legs away a little bit, and you saw us just sit off a bit in the second half.
"Taking chances when we're on top is absolutely critical, having the creativity to break down a deep defence will come to the fore against Panama I think.
"That has been a concern in the last tournament. We had more possession against Russia, Iceland, Slovakia, but couldn't break them down."
