Roy Hodgson praises Harry Kane's 'fantastic' England performance against Estonia

Fantastic: Hodgson praised Kane's efforts up front for England
Clive Rose/Getty Images
Sam Long9 October 2015

England manager Roy Hodgson has praised Harry Kane's 'fantastic' performance during the 2-0 victory against Estonia on Friday night.

The Spurs striker was given an opportunity to lead the line in Wayne Rooney's absence as the hosts continued their flawless record in Euro 2016 qualifying courtesy of a solid, if not spectacular, collective display.

The Three Lions dominated proceedings at Wembley but the visitors proved to be a difficult nut to crack and they had to wait until the 45th minute before the deadlock was broken.

Theo Walcott beat the offside trap and finished confidently past the goalkeeper to put England in front just before the break and Raheem Sterling put the result beyond doubt from close range five minutes from time.

Kane ran tirelessly up front and although the 22-year-old could not add to his three international goals Hodgson praised his contribution, plus that of substitute Jamie Vardy.

Clive Rose/Getty Images

"Harry Kane did some fantastic work at centre forward setting things up and Jamie Vardy was only on the pitch a few minutes before he’d set up a goal."

Hodgson was delighted that his side secured all three points against what proved to be a tricky opponent and avoided the pitfalls of playing a team that defends in numbers.

"It was as tough as we thought it would be. Estonia were well organised and they’re a team that is intelligent in the way they play.

"We had to work hard, we attacked a lot, we had a lot of the ball had a lot of chances. I thought we were good value for our 2-0 win.

"You have to come through these kind of games, if you are not careful you can slip up, and I’m glad we didn’t."

Kane is in contention to lead the line in Lithuania on Tuesday but Hodgson could opt to experiment with his side now that England have not only qualified for next summer's tournament in France but also secured a top seeding.

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