There may be other changes made other than Kane in the semi-final

ENGLAND penalty hero Trent Alexander-Arnold says Virgil van Dijk and Holland would love it if Harry Kane was dropped.

Captain Kane is struggling at Euro 2024 and faces calls to be benched for the semi-final blockbuster with the Netherlands in Dortmund.

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There have been calls to drop Harry Kane for the semi-finalCredit: Getty

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But Trent Alexander-Arnold insists team-mate Virgil van Dijk would love that to happenCredit: Reuters

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He has backed Kane to lead by example once againCredit: Getty

But Alexander-Arnold says Liverpool club-mate Van Dijk will be pleased if the Bayern Munich striker is axed.

He said: “Anyone facing England would like to see Harry Kane not playing. We’re talking about England’s record scorer.

“He’s scored two in this tournament, helped us win games and, as our captain, leads by example and puts everything into games.

“People will always have opinions but he is leading us into a semi-final.

“He is part of the reason why the environment is such a good one in camp. And he is a reason why we’re heading into a semi.”

Kane, 30, boasts 65 goals in 96 Three Lions games.

But he looks off the pace and the suspicion remains he has not fully recovered from a back issue that saw him miss the end of Bayern’s season.

Kane was subbed in three of England’s five games — including during Saturday’s quarter-final with the Swiss.

He went off in extra-time before the shootout victory, shortly after hurtling into Gareth Southgate’s dugout.

Yet the ex-Spurs star hit 44 goals in 45 games in his maiden Bayern campaign.

And Alexander-Arnold, 25, added: “You just know he is a threat. Anything in andaound the box, you must be on red alert. He is the best finisher that I’ve seen or played with.”

Pundit Ian Wright claims it is time for Southgate to “make a decision” up front.

On Stick to Football: The Overlap Special, ex-England and Arsenal striker Wright declared: “Kane’s not sharp, he’s not in the box — and now we know Ivan Toney can go to that level.

“We’re going to need to make that decision.”

Yet Southgate looks set to stick with Kane while Marc Guehi could replace Ezri Konsa after his ban, with fit-again Luke Shaw pushing to start on the left.

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Alexander-Arnold added that Kane was a big reason why the environment at the camp was so goodCredit: Getty

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Kane has scored twice for England at Euro 2024Credit: Getty

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The squad were seen on a run before their crunch semi-final against the NetherlandsCredit: Getty

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Elsewhere, Luke Shaw may be handed a start if he is deemed fit enoughCredit: Getty