Harry Kane was non-committal when asked whether he would rather come up against Virgil Van Dijk or Matthijs de Ligt in Wednesday’s Euro 2024 semi final.
England lock horns with the Netherlands knowing they are just one win away from a second consecutive European Championships final.
The Three Lions put in an improved display against Switzerland, but will likely need to find another level if they are to get past the Dutch who have shown signs of improvement against both Romania and Turkey.
Kane has started every game so far for Gareth Southgate’s side and has scored two goals in five matches, but his performances have come in for criticism.
The Bayern Munich ace doesn’t look like he’s fully fit and has been criticised for not getting involved in the game enough and dropping deep instead of staying up the pitch.
There’s no doubt the 30-year-old will start on Wednesday night, but it certainly feels like England need more from their record scorer, and the semi final would be the perfect place to start.
Kane is likely to come up against at least one if not two defenders that he knows very well in Van Dijk and Bayern team-mate De Ligt.
The former Tottenham man was asked in the pre-match press conference who he would rather come up against out of the pair, but he was non-committal with his answer.
“Matthjis has been a [Bayern Munich] team-mate of mine, a fantastic player,” he told reporters.
“I’m not sure if he’s going to start tomorrow or not but if he does we’ve had a lot of battles in training so I’m sure tomorrow will be no different.
“I’ve had a lot of battles with Virgil over the years, sometimes he’s won and sometimes I have.
“Whoever plays will be a tough opponent. I’ll always prepare in the same way to make them as uncomfortable as possible but they’ll do the same as me.
“I enjoy playing against the best in the world, that’s why you want to play these games. I’m looking forward to that challenge tomorrow.”
De Ligt has been an unused sub for the Dutch in all five games with Stefan de Vrij preferred over him, so it would appear unlikely he will play.
The 24-year-old is believed to be close to a move to Manchester United which would see him link up again with his former manager Erik ten Hag.
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