Jordan Henderson has revealed his joy for England captain Harry Kane after his hat-trick against Albania on Friday night.
Gareth Southgate’s Three Lions are about to qualify for next year’s World Cup in Qatar Friday’s impressive 5-0 victory in front of a sold out crowd at Wembley.
All five goals came in the first half, with a header from Harry Maguire and a first goal from Wembley for Henderson, completed by England captain Kane’s perfect hat-trick.
Gossip: Barça withdraw Thiago from Liverpool, City return for Kane
The Tottenham striker has struggled to stay fit since a summer transfer failed, but he led the line impressively on Friday and underscored his quality in front of goal.
“I think you can see how good he has been as a player over the years,” Vice Captain Henderson said. “His scoring record speaks for itself.
“His finish in training is excellent. You give him half a chance, you know he’s going to take it and that was the case today.
“He’s clinically in front of the goal and he earned his hat-trick, so I’m very happy for him.”
“He’s probably had a difficult couple of months so I’m very happy that he gets a hat-trick and I hope that gives him some confidence now.”
Kane became England’s record-breaking competitive scorer with that treble and tied the score with the late great Jimmy Greaves at 44.
“Number four. The perfect.” ????
A word with @HKane after his hat-trick against Albania … pic.twitter.com/9PdPVnvu4f
– Inglaterra (@England) November 12, 2021
When asked if he was surprised that people still doubted Kane, Henderson replied, “Yes and no.
“We are surprised by the quality of him, but we are not surprised because we play football. Everyone will have an opinion.
“You always go through times when your form may not be as good as you would like, or you may not score as many goals, as he does, if he wanted to.
“So they are always going to criticize him in football, you know, and that’s part of the job.
“I’ve had it my entire career and will continue to have it until the day I’m done, so yeah, you learn to deal with it better as you get older and more experienced, which I have discovered.
“You use it as a kind of fuel for yourself and to improve and make yourself better.
“So to answer your question, no, we are not surprised because everyone is going to be criticized in football at some point.
“But of course we are a bit surprised by the quality of Harry Kane, everyone knows that he is one of the best forwards in the world.”
Henderson, Kane and the rest of the England squad are now turning their attention to the 19th and final match of a great international year in San Marino.
Southgate’s side to the microstate, knowing that avoiding defeat to the world’s lowest ranking will complete qualification for next winter’s final in Qatar.
“We always respect the opponent,” Henderson added.
“It doesn’t matter who we play against, we always have respect for the opponent and we have a job to do on Monday and we want to finish the job well.
“We want to go there and put in a good performance, get a good result and take us to the World Cup in one year.
“That is the goal and that will be the focus in the coming days.”
–
.
