On the eve of the much-anticipated UEFA Europa League final between England and Spain, soccer star Gary Neville, in an interview with Sky Sports, spoke highly of England's central striker Harry Kane and gave an in-depth analysis and outlook on the upcoming final.
Neville began by mentioning an exchange with England legend Wayne Rooney, revealing Rooney's extremely high praise for Kane: "When I spoke to Rooney a couple of weeks ago, he called Kane the greatest England player of all time. That kind of comment carries a lot of weight coming from a player with a lot of experience in the national team." Neville himself agrees wholeheartedly with this sentiment, believing that Kane's performances on the pitch are impeccable and that he is an indispensable golden player for the team.
Although Neville has also noted that Kane does not seem to be at his best in recent games, and may even be carrying an injury, he is confident that Kane's leadership and Southgate's trust in him will not be shaken. Neville pointed out: "Kane is the core of the England team, his presence makes the opponents have to focus on when making tactics. Even when he is not in the best of form, he is still the spiritual pillar of the team."
For the final opponent Spain, Neville gave full recognition. He believes that the Spanish team has shown great tactical quality and team understanding in this European Cup, especially the outstanding performance of the core midfielders Fabian Ruiz and Rodrigo, which makes the Spanish team's attack more fluent and threatening. However, Neville also emphasized that England has found ways to cope with all kinds of challenges, and they are confident that they can overcome the difficulties again and win in the final.
Speaking about the team's substitutes, Neville singled out the likes of Ivan Toney and Watkins for their outstanding performances in key moments. He believes that the presence of these players adds more possibilities and variation to the team and can change the situation when the game is not going well.
Looking ahead to the final, Neville said, "It's going to be a very tough game, but England are well prepared. We are progressively getting better and improving with every game. We are confident that we will play our best in the final and give the fans a great game." He also reminded the team to stay focused and calm, not to be distracted by the outside noise and focus on the game itself.
Finally, Neville re-emphasized the importance of Kane to the England team and hoped that the whole team could unite together to fight for the championship glory.
