MX23RW : Thursday, November 7 14:49:46| >> :60:334:334:

Ex-Arsenal striker names England player 'anyone' would want as teammate

Lilywhites love: Ex-Tottenham man says 'anyone' would want England hero as teammate
© Reuters
Former Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur striker Emmanuel Adebayor claims that "any footballer" would love to have England's Kyle Walker as their teammate.

Former Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur striker Emmanuel Adebayor has named one England stalwart that "any footballer" would want as their teammate.

The Three Lions may be in the quarter-finals of Euro 2024, where they will take on Switzerland on Friday evening, but their performances in Germany have been uninspiring to say the least.

Gareth Southgate's men only just scraped a 1-0 win over Serbia in their opening game before being held to 1-1 and 0-0 draws by Denmark and Slovenia, although they still topped Group C with five points to their name.

Finishing first saw England enter the ostensibly easier side of the knockout draw and earn a last-16 date with Slovakia - who finished third in Group E - but they were on the verge of an embarrassing exit when Ivan Schranz netted his third goal of the tournament in the first half.

However, with seconds of normal time remaining, Jude Bellingham saved England's bacon with a sensational overhead kick, before Harry Kane completed a breathtaking Three Lions turnaround 54 seconds into extra time.

Bellingham's acrobatic effort stemmed from a long throw from Manchester City right-back Kyle Walker, who had previously endured a difficult outing before his delivery was flicked on by Marc Guehi for the Real Madrid man to volley home.

Emmanuel Adebayor during his Tottenham Hotspur days in 2015© Reuters

Adebayor talks up Walker "self-giving" and comments on Kane display

The former Tottenham man had struggled to contain Lukas Haraslin in the opening exchanges, but Adebayor - who was briefly Walker's teammate in North London - believes that anyone would be lucky to play alongside him.

"For Walker, always true to himself in his outpouring of energy, his self-giving, any footballer would love to have him as a teammate," the ex-Togo man said in an interview with Afrik Foot.

Adebayor spent four seasons at Tottenham from 2011-12 to 2014-15, the latter of which saw Kane enjoy his breakthrough season at White Hart Lane, but the England captain is another who has not been at his best at the Euros so far.

However, Adebayor insisted that the Bayern Munich man's critical header is all that should be remembered of his performance, adding: "Kane had a difficult match, especially in the first half.

"He dropped off a lot in the first 45 minutes, I think the coach must have told him to stay higher in the second half. Kane remains a striker, when you manage to score like that in a tight match and qualify your team for the quarter-finals, that's all we're going to remember."

Adebayor also heaped praise on England as a whole following their nervy win over Slovakia, which saw the Three Lions reach their fourth successive major tournament quarter-final under Southgate.

ID:547257:1false2false3false:QQ:: from db desktop :LenBod:collect4765:

Click here for more stories about Kyle Walker

Click here for more stories about Tottenham Hotspur

Collect / Create New Data
Share this article now:
England's Harry Kane celebrates scoring their second goal on June 30, 2024
Read Next:
"Great football nation" - England receive praise from ex-Arsenal striker
>
Sports Mole Logo
Enter your email address to subscribe to Sports Mole's free match previews newsletter! Updates are sent twice a week.
rhs 2.0
Today's games header
Tables header RHS
TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
1Liverpool108111961325
2Manchester CityMan City1072121111023
3Nottingham ForestNott'm Forest10541147719
4Chelsea105322012818
5Arsenal105321711618
6Aston Villa105321715218
7Tottenham HotspurSpurs1051422111116
8Brighton & Hove AlbionBrighton104421714316
9Fulham104331413115
10Bournemouth104331312115
11Newcastle UnitedNewcastle104331010015
12Brentford104151920-113
13Manchester UnitedMan Utd10334912-312
14West Ham UnitedWest Ham103251319-611
15Leicester CityLeicester102441418-410
16Everton102351017-79
17Crystal Palace10145813-57
18Ipswich TownIpswich100551021-115
19Southampton10118719-124
20Wolverhampton WanderersWolves100371427-133


Sports Mole provides in-depth previews and predictions for every match from the biggest leagues and competitions in world football.
Argentina's Lionel Messi kisses the World Cup trophy after collecting the Golden Ball award on December 18, 2022Sign up for our FREE daily preview newsletter direct to your inbox!