Former England player and manager Kevin Keegan has claimed that the modern-day crop need Harry Kane and Dele Alli to stay injury-free if they are to enjoy any sort of success at the World Cup.
The Three Lions booked their place at next summer's tournament in Russia thanks to a 1-0 win over Slovenia on Thursday night, secured through a late Kane strike at Wembley Stadium.
Keegan believes that the Tottenham Hotspur ace and clubmate Alli are the modern-day equivalent of himself and Trevor Brooking, with England's hopes largely dependent on the duo's form and fitness in eight months' time.
"I did think we had a chance in 1982 until me and Trevor Brooking got injured," Sky Sports News quotes him as saying. "We had other good players, but we were the main reason we qualified. It's important everyone stays fit. Not just Kane, but also Dele Alli. You want all your best players, and then you have got a chance.
"If you went to a World Cup and you took, let's say, Johan Cruyff and Johan Neeskens out of the great Dutch side, people would not be surprised if they lost. But with England, people still think you are going to win it without your two best players. It's being English, it's the optimism. Alan Shearer is a massive fan of Kane.
"I know from when I worked in Qatar with him he was saying how good Kane was. That was a year and a half ago and I wasn't sure. I said we need to have a good look at him, see if he gets the 20 or 30 goals that you were getting - and of course now he is doing that."
Kane has scored 15 goals for club and country already this season, eight of which have come in his last four outings.
Daniel Lewis
