John Terry claims Harry Kane's lack of goalscoring form isn't a worrying sign for England - as Gareth Southgate has other players to rely on ahead of the Three Lions' clash against Senegal on Sunday.
The Tottenham star failed to score in each of England's three group matches as he struggles for form in front of goal. Although the 29-year-old has managed to grab three assists, some supporters are worried about his lack of goalmouth action.
Kane watched Marcus Rashford and Phil Foden get on the scoresheet in the Three Lions' 3-0 win over Wales at the Ahmed Bin Ali Stadium on Tuesday, which booked their place in the last 16. Rashford hammered home the first with a thunderous free kick, before Foden scored England's second at the start of the second half.
He tapped home Kane's inch-perfect cross as the 'Stockport Iniesta' made his mark on the world stage after starting on the bench for the first two matches. Rashford added a third as England secured their place at the top of Group B, with United States coming second after their 1-0 win over Iran.
Southgate decided to change both his wingers for the clash against Rob Page's men, with Bukayo Saka and Raheem Sterling coming out of the XI to make way for Foden and Rashford. And former Chelsea defender Terry believes the performances of the latter could help ease the burden on Kane - who is two goals shy of matching Wayne Rooney's tally of 53 in an England shirt - if his role changes slightly at the tournament.
"We have so much quality. It was important that we got fresh players on the pitch. Walker needed the minutes. Kane comes off, other players come on, Rashford scores two goals, Foden starts the game tonight, which was a real positive," Terry said on beIN Sports.
"I said before the tournament that Phil could be a big, big player for us in this World Cup. It causes the manager problems now, it'll be interesting to see his next team when we play Senegal. Because the players have given the manager a problem.
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"When you've got such a good group of players it’s important to know that if Harry Kane is not playing well there's other players that can come in. Rashford can come and replace you. Phil Foden doesn't play well, he will be replaced. Mason Mount doesn't play well he will be replaced. When you have that competitiveness within the group it's also great because these players now feel part of it."
Southgate was delighted with his side's performance against Wales and praised Foden and Rashford in particular. "We had complete control of the game in the first half but didn’t create enough clear chances," Southgate said. "We were a little bit out of balance and we thought we could reverse Marcus and Phil’s sides. Players make those decisions work.
"Watching lots of games the big players have stepped up. And our forwards didn’t do that in the first half but in the second half, they really did. You need goals from all areas. It is a problem for the opposition if the threat is coming from other areas of the pitch. It is competition for places and people have to deliver."
