Harry Kane has flattered to deceive at the European Championships so far, however, Daniel Harris believes that Gareth Southgate will resist any temptation to drop his captain.
Speaking on OTB Sports Euro 2020 Show with Paddy Power, Harris expressed the belief that England's problems are much more pronounced than Kane's worrying form and said that Southgate would be inviting extreme pressure if he dropped his striker for Tuesday's clash with the Czech Republic.
"I think it is fair that people are wondering what is going on with Kane because he does not look fit," Harris said.
"There are a couple of things wrong with this England team. Kane not being fit is one of them but that is not the same as the team failing to create chances for him.
"I think that is a much bigger problem. Even if Kane is not fit, if you create chances for him, he will score them and also, he will get fitter.
"I do not think Kane is in any danger of being dropped. If there was another poor performance tonight and a really difficult game coming up next, Southgate might think about it but he is, as we keep seeing, a cautious manager, a cautious man.
"There is no way he is going to leave Kane out. I cannot imagine there will be a situation where England are playing a knockout match, in a tournament and Kane is dropped."
Southgate's choices around Kane are dictated by pragmatism
Harris feels that Southgate will have his own future in mind when making any decisions around Kane at the European Championships.
England manager Gareth SouthgateHe cited comments from a past England striker as precedent for the situation that is unfolding.
"If you were Southgate, you will not want to invite the attention that dropping the captain attracts," Harris said.
"Gary Lineker said, the other day, when he got taken off by Graham Taylor at Euro 92, he became the martyr and Taylor got all of the blame for what happened. If Lineker had stayed on he would not have escaped [the blame] in that way.
"Self-preservation will be in the back of Southgate's mind. Dropping Kane is a massive deal and it invites all sorts of aggravation that no one is going to want."
Picture date: Friday June 18, 2021.England are assured passage through to the knockout stages thanks to Belgium's victory over Finland.
Kane will certainly be hopeful that his name is included in Southgate's first 11 on Tuesday evening, as he seeks to kickstart his Euro 2020 campaign and silence any critics of his performances over the past two fixtures.
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