Last Sunday Roy Hodgson announced his squad for England’s Euro 2016 qualifiers against San Marino and Switzerland. Of the 22 players named, four were strikers, Wayne Rooney, Harry Kane, Theo Walcott and Jamie Vardy.
England will secure qualification if they win away to San Marino on Saturday and Slovenia fail to win away to Switzerland – a likely scenario.
Captain Rooney has not scored a Premier League goal in 10 games, his last coming at the beginning of April in a 3-1 win over Aston Villa. The Manchester United striker currently sits just one goal behind Bobby Charlton’s international record of 49 for England, which Rooney is expected to break in the coming days.
Alongside is Tottenham’s Kane and Arsenal’s Walcott, also both yet to find the net in the Premier League this season.
Meanwhile, Leicester City’s Vardy has started the new campaign with some impact. The 28-year-old has scored two goals in his four games so far and has also provided one assist.
In reality, Kane, Walcott and Vardy are all vying for one spot in the starting line-up, alongside the veteran Rooney. It is the wonderboy Kane who is expected to earn the manager’s nod, despite his uninspiring last few weeks for the Hotspurs.
Stats released by Opta-powered fantasy football game www.oulala.com show that Vardy has not only scored more goals on his own than Rooney, Kane and Walcott have between them, but he also leads the other three for shot accuracy too.
[interaction id=”55e896c985c614d96166e9ff”]
57% of the Leicester forward’s shots have been on target this season. In contrast, Rooney has had an accuracy of just 43%. Kane has hit 38% of his shots on target, and Walcott just 33%.
Boasting far superior attacking figures, Vardy should walk straight into the starting line-up on Saturday, however, it is unlikely despite Kane and Walcott’s poor starts to the season.
Is a game against San Marino just what Kane needs to get his season up and running? Or is it the perfect opportunity to give the in-form Vardy the start that he deserves?
What are your thoughts? Let us know by dropping a comment below via our Facebook comment box. Make sure you follow us on Twitter @Outside90 and like us on Facebook.
