FIFA World Cup 2018: English striker Harry Kane is a complete player, Belgium's Thomas Vermaelen says

Image courtesy: EPA/EFE

Kaliningrad, Russia: Belgian defender Thomas Vermaelen praised England's Harry Kane on Wednesday, calling him "a world-class striker" a day ahead of the critical FIFA World Cup clash between Belgium and England.

"He has scored a lot of goals and has been so important at Tottenham and England. He is the complete striker and is world class," Vermaelen said in a press conference.

Even though both teams have already qualified for the round of 16, Thursday's match will determine who wins Group G and add some clarity about potential opponents in the knockout round.

Vermaelen's job will be to stop Kane, who has scored five goals in the World Cup and is the tournament's top scorer.

"He's scored a lot of goals and he's very important for them. He's a complete striker because he's strong and scores goals," Vermaelen said, referring to Kane.

Belgium opened the World Cup with a 3-0 win over Panama and then blew out Tunisia 5-2.

The Belgian defender acknowledged that England will be a tougher opponent.

"They are a young and intelligent team and they play really well. I expect them to go far in the tournament," Vermaelen said.