Roy Hodgson: Harry Kane will start against Italy

The 21-year-old, who has scored 29 goals in all competitions for Spurs this season, came off the bench in England's 4-0 Euro 2016 qualifying victory over Lithuania on Friday. He scored his first goal for the Three Lions after just 79 seconds and will now start against the Azzurri.

England boss Hodgson told a press conference: "Harry Kane will make his full debut, playing from the start and Wayne Rooney will captain the team."

Kane replaced Rooney in the second half of England's win over Lithuania, scoring with a header from Raheem Sterling's cross, and Hodgson is relishing the prospect of the strikers working together at the Juventus Stadium.

"I think it's nice to see the two of them on the field together," Hodgson added. "They've played a lot in training and the other night they could have but they didn't because Harry took Wayne's place.

"So I am pleased to see them playing together in this game and Harry certainly deserves his chance."

Unlike his Italy counterpart Antonio Conte, Hodgson would not name his full starting XI on Monday evening.

He added: "I understand why Antonio has done that because this is a friendly match and it's a time to experiment with players.

"But if you really want to know our line-up you will have to wait until tomorrow night when the game kicks off."

England fans are excited again and Roy Hodgson has rightly capitalised on the sudden reduction in national apathy by throwing Kane into his starting XI.

Normally it’s unwise to make such bold calls concerning a young player but, given England don’t have another competitive fixture until June, it seems sensible to give him a proper taste of international action while the hype is swirling – particularly against a side that has leaked just four goals in five Euro 2016 qualifying matches.

He's the joint-top goalscorer in the Premier League and deserves this immediate chance to prove himself on the international stage. Good luck, Harry...