Euro 2016: England must drop Harry Kane for final match

Tottenham striker Harry Kane has looked out of sorts at Euro 2016 and Roy Hodgson must replace him with Jamie Vardy in the England starting XI.

Before the tournament began, Harry Kane was listed by oddsmakers as one of the favorites for the Euro 2016 Golden Boot. Kane was given between 16 and 18-1 odds to top the scoring charts in the tourney ahead of Gareth Bale, Alvaro Morata, and Robert Lewandowski.

Unfortunately for England, Kane has looked more likely to blast a free kick to row Z or hit the first man with a corner than scoring. He has been out of sorts in the lineup and has not looked anywhere near the danger man that he was for Tottenham all year long in the Premier League.

Some of that blame has to be placed on Roy Hodgson for using his striker on corners and long free kicks rather than putting him in the best position to succeed. Kane has proven two years running that he can be the main danger man for any side with his domestic exploits.

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He is equally adept at winning the ball in an aerial battle, running down long balls over the top, or putting himself in the best position for tap-ins and poacher’s goals. At this point however it seems that Jamie Vardy or even Daniel Sturridge would be a better fit at that forward role for the Three Lions.

Both Vardy and Sturridge came on as second half substitutes and turned the tide against Wales and overturned a 1-0 deficit with their linkup play. Vardy scored the opener by being at the right place at the right time and Sturridge scored the winner after a lovely bit of close-quarters passing between him, Vardy, and Dele Alli.

LENS, FRANCE – JUNE 16: Jamie Vardy (R) of England scores his team’s first goal past Wayne Hennessey of Wales during the UEFA EURO 2016 Group B match between England and Wales at Stade Bollaert-Delelis on June 16, 2016 in Lens, France. (Photo by Matthias Hangst/Getty Images) /

Vardy was on fire for Leicester City all season long and has carried that momentum in to the tournament and deserves to be on the field no matter what. Roy Hodgson could choose to deploy him instead of Raheem Sterling out on the wings as Vardy can punish defenses with his pace and tenacity.

As for Daniel Sturridge, he is another creative player that England needs on the pitch when they are looking for an opener or chasing a goal. He is in a better vein of form than Kane at the moment and deserves to be rewarded for his part in both goals against Wales.

Unfortunately for Spurs fans the promotion of Vardy and Sturridge will have to come at the expense of Harry Kane but he can always be deployed as a super-sub the way the other strikers have. If England are to make a deep run in the tournament they will need all of their attacking talent to buy in because of their deficiencies in defense and Kane is chief among them.

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With qualification to the second round nearly assured, Hodgson has the room to tinker and experiment with his lineup and he can do so by rewarding his most effective players so far. The starting XI must be a meritocracy and Kane is not deserving of the starting place at this m

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