Dier: Harry Kane “fully deserved” England captaincy

Much hay has been made and much salt has been consumed over the appointment of Harry Kane as the captain of England’s World Cup squad. Kane, apparently had known for a few weeks that he was going to be named as England’s de facto leader by Gareth Southgate, but that didn’t prevent members of the media and football fans — predictably Liverpool supporters who thought Jordan Henderson deserved the job — from getting really, really upset about it.

Well, one person who things Kane deserved it is his Tottenham and England teammate Eric Dier. And he should know because he has named twice as England captain himself.

“I wasn’t disappointed [I wasn’t named captain]. I’m very happy for Harry to be given the opportunity. I think it’s fully deserved. And one of the things Gareth said when he spoke to us was that he wants things to continue in the same way, where he has leaders all over the pitch, and hopefully I can continue to do that as well. I think it’s important that the whole team, everyone has to share the responsibility between everyone.

“The way [Kane] carries himself, the way he works, the way he trains, the way you see him in games I think are all the attributes you need to be a good captain. I am really happy for him. It is going to be a really special tournament for him, to be able to lead the team out.”

I still don’t understand the hullaballoo over national team captains, their importance, and why it matters who gets selected over someone else, but I do know that Harry Kane is a great leader. Eric Dier thinks so too, and that’s neat.