Gareth Southgate has spoken out on Dominic Calvert-Lewin’s role in the England squad as understudy to captain Harry Kane.
The 24-year-old enjoyed a sensational season for Everton, scoring 21 goals from 39 appearances, but despite a bright start to his international career, returning four goals from 10 Three Lions caps, he has been limited to just a last-minute substitute appearance against Croatia at Euro 2020 so far.
Kane has endured a tough tournament and was withdrawn early against both the Croatians and Scotland having had a minimal impact, however, Southgate opted to turn to Manchester United forward Marcus Rashford ahead of the Blues frontman from the bench on both occasions.
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And when explaining his decision, the England boss reiterated his faith in his captain when clarifying Calvert-Lewin ’s role in the squad.
“I’m sure Harry is going to be playing for us and is going to have a big impact [tonight] so I’m not worried about that,” Southgate told reporters.
“Are we pleased to have Dominic in our squad? Yeah, absolutely. He’s a very good centre-forward and he had a big impact for us in the Autumn so it’s good we’ve got him and Marcus who can play as nines in the team.
“They understand in terms of their challenge with Harry. Obviously Marcus can play wide as well, but they understand who our best number nine is and the scoring pedigree and the importance to the team of Harry’s status and his role for us.”
