Kane named England's World Cup captain

Tottenham striker Harry Kane will be England's captain at the World Cup in Russia, the Football Association announced on today.

Manager Gareth Southgate has shared the leadership role around since taking over as manager in 2016 but has now settled on Kane for the tournament, which begins next month.

The 24-year-old, who has scored 12 goals in 23 international appearances, was first handed the armband for the qualifier against Scotland last June and has skippered the side on three further occasions.

Southgate, who announced his decision during a team meeting at England's training base yesterday, 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."
"So excited, obviously excited for the World Cup. I just can't wait to be there and experience it. To be leading the lads out is going to be special. But for me nothing changes -- I'm the same person, the same player, and it's just about the team. We've just got to do what we can and go as far as we can."