West Ham United midfielder Declan Rice should be the next England captain – Tony Adams
England legend Tony Adams has called for Harry Kane to be stripped of the Three Lions captaincy and replaced with West Ham United midfielder Declan Rice after England crashed out in the quarter-finals of the Qatar World Cup.
Gareth Southgate’s side were left bitterly disappointed following their 2-1 loss to France, in which Kane missed a decisive spot kick to make honours even in the dying moments of the match.
Former Arsenal player Adams demanded that Kane should be stripped of his duties as captain in his column for The Sun, and suggested that The Hammers captain is his obvious replacement.
He said: “We’ve got good players but I stand by changing the captain. Harry Kane is the No 9 and did not shirk responsibility for missing that penalty. But we’ve got to think about what we do now with the captaincy.
“I believe Declan Rice should have the job. Is Kane going to be the shining star at the next two tournaments? When are we going to get to the point where we take him off and change it? It’s hard to do when he’s captain.”
Not quite yet
Although Rice proved himself a brilliant deputy to Mark Noble last season and a worthy successor so far this campaign, you can’t help but feel claims for him to take the role have come too early in his career.
At just 23 Rice still has plenty of scope for growth as a player on the pitch, as well as his leadership off it.
Taking the England captaincy is a burden like no other, and Kane has done so with magnificent humility and success.
Although he missed the decisive penalty against France, Kane is still a world-class striker and the one natural captain in England’s squad right now.
That isn’t to say Rice shouldn’t be considered as captain in the future, because he clearly should, but Kane needs the opportunity to right his wrongs at the EUROs in 2024.
With Kieran Trippier, Jordan Pickford and Harry Maguire all captaining their respective clubs, and Jude Bellingham taking the armband at points this season for Borussia Dortmund, there will be plenty of competition when Kane does relinquish the role – but that isn’t quite yet.