Euro 2016 qualifiers: All eyes on Kane as England take on Lithuania

Tottenham star may start qualifier in place of injured Sturridge

PARIS: England are chasing a fifth win from five matches in Group E when they entertain Lithuania at Wembley.

It may not be the kind of fixture that would usually whip up great excitement among the masses, but a crowd of 90,000 is expected to see Tottenham Hotspur hotshot Harry Kane potentially make his England bow.

"It's fantastic, what he has done," said England manager Roy Hodgson of 21-year-old Kane, who has scored 29 goals this season. "It's very tough for a young player to come into a top team like Tottenham with demands and expectations, and to shoulder aside people like [Emmanuel] Adebayor and [Roberto] Soldado and make the place your own, and then not just to play well and keep your place but score a lot of goals — that is some achievement.”

 

England’s injury woes

Fullback Danny Rose became the fifth player to withdraw from England's squad for the Euro 2016 qualifier with Lithuania and the friendly against Italy next Tuesday because of injury.

The 24-year-old Spurs star — a former stalwart of the England U21 side — had only been called up after Manchester United's Luke Shaw withdrew on Saturday.

Aside from Rose and Shaw, injury has deprived Hodgson of goalkeeper Fraser Forster, whose season is over after undergoing knee surgery, and Liverpool duo Daniel Sturridge and Adam Lallana.

In the absence of both Shaw and Rose, Everton's Leighton Baines looks set to start at left-back in both matches, provided he does not sustain an injury against Lithuania at Wembley.

No one has been called up as a replacement for Rose, although Southampton's Ryan Bertrand has earned praise for his performances this season.

 

Spain eyeing redemption in Group C

A rejuvenated Spain recommence their Euro 2016 qualifying campaign at home to Ukraine in Seville on Friday.

In their first outing since a 1-0 friendly loss to Germany in November, reigning European champions Spain put their record of never having lost at the Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan stadium on the line as they face Ukraine in qualifying Group C.

Vicente del Bosque's side are second in the group after four games, three points behind Slovakia, who beat Spain in October.

Del Bosque is overseeing a period of transition following last year's World Cup disaster and his latest squad features the likes of Athletic Bilbao defender Mikel San Jose, Sevilla winger Vitolo and Malaga forward Juanmi, who replaces the injured Diego Costa.

"Being called up is already a success. But I want to make my debut," said winger Vitolo. "The Sanchez Pizjuan is my home and it would be great to make my debut there, in front of my fans."

With the top two in each group qualifying automatically for next year's finals in France, Spain and Ukraine are level on nine points in Group C, three points behind leaders Slovakia, who host Luxembourg.

 

 

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