Kane to lead England in World Cup

London, May 22: Harry Kane has been made England captain for the 2018 World Cup finals, the Football Association (FA) has confirmed.

The announcement was made in a video published on Twitter.

Tottenham Hotspur striker Kane has scored 12 goals for England from 23 appearances and first captained his country in a World Cup qualifier against Scotland last year.

England face Tunisia, Panama and Belgium at the World Cup.

Talking about Kane's appointment, England manager Gareth Southgate, who made the decision after discussion with the FA said, "Harry has some outstanding personal qualities.

"He is a meticulous professional and one of the most important things for a captain is that they set the standard every day.

"He has belief and high standards and it is a great message for the team to have a captain who has shown that it is possible to be one of the best in the world over a consistent period of time and that has been his drive.

"My feeling is that over the last 18 months in the camps that he's been with us he has shown that he has got the desire to take that into a team environment and he recognises the importance of bringing others with him."

Southgate had named the 23-man squad last week, but deferred the announcement of the skipper.

Uncapped Liverpool full-back Trent Alexander-Arnold was named in the squad but, as expected, Joe Hart and Jack Wilshere failed to make the cut.

(With Agency inputs).