Finally, all speculation over who would and who wouldn’t make the England squad for this summer’s World Cup was brought to an end on Wednesday as Gareth Southgate punched the plane ticket of 23 players to take to Russia. As with every major tournament squad announcement, there were some shocks and surprises.
There was no place for Joe Hart or Jack Wilshere as Southgate largely opted for youth, with Danny Welbeck doing enough over the past few weeks to secure a spot in the squad. But the tedious speculation won’t end here. Next, there will be conjecture over who will wear the captain’s armband for the Three Lions this summer.
England has a long-standing obsession with the captain’s armband. Think back to the controversy that has surrounded the position, and the players who have filled it, over the years. There’s a disproportionate focus on anyone who holds the captaincy for England more often than not, this scrutiny ends in some sort of tabloid story.
Nobody cares as much about the captaincy of the national team as much as the English do. It’s not much of an issue for other footballing countries. This results in a more mature approach. The responsibility of leadership is spread out over the whole team, sharing the pressure that is heaped on just one man in the England team.
At present, Harry Kane seems to be the pick of many to be England captain come their World Cup opener in Volgograd against Tunisia on June 18. The team that travels to Russia this summer will be decidedly young and lacking in top level experience, and so Kane is seen to be the Three Lions’ only proven, world class star.
That is the only criteria Kane satisfies. The striker might be a proven goalscorer, one of the best in the game right now, At club level, Kane isn’t a captain or vice captain, with Hugo Lloris possessing the armband at Spurs. He might lead by example, but he is not exactly a vocal figure on the pitch. Kane isn’t the most natural of captains.
But should Southgate hand him the armband for this summer’s World Cup, he can expect all the responsibility that comes with that to be heaped on his shoulders. Kane is already burdened with being England’s attacking frontman and now it seems likely that he will also have to cope with captaining his country in Russia.
It won’t happen, but as an experiment, it would be interesting to observe the effect on the squad were Southgate not to name a captain at all. If he trusted all his players to be responsible enough in their own decision making. If he treated them like adults. Would that bring England’s unhealthy obsession with its national team captain to an end?
