Gary Lineker makes Match of the Day 'defence' of Harry Kane as fans turn on England star

Gary Lineker launched a 'defiant' defence of Harry Kane on Sunday night's Match of the Day, as England fans started to take aim at the England captain on social media during his side's Euro 2024 opener against Serbia.

As expected, given his proven goal scoring record for the Three Lions, the ex Spurs striker ands recent Bayern Munich signing, started up to for Gareth Southgate as they aimed to start their tournament with a win and a convincing performance, having let fans down with a dire 1-0 defeat to Iceland in their last warm up friendly before heading over to Germany for the Euros.

As is so often the case with England, after a bright start, which saw Kane's highly rated team mate Jude Bellingham open the scoring with the game's one and only goal in the 13th minute, England got sloppier with their play as the haldf went on, allowing their opponents the time and space to try and get back into the game.

READ MORE: Match of the Day's Gary Lineker halts BBC show for 'tough' update on TV pundit

Get all the latest TV and showbiz news and gossip from Chronicle Live with our free newsletter

When the whistle blew for half time at the Veltins Arena, cameras went back on Gary and his BBC colleagues in the studio, when the topic of Kane's performance in the first 45 was raised. And, rather than express any concerns about the skipper, Gary took the opposite approach and instead was quick to defend him, commenting: "Harry Kane isn't necessarily sacrificing himself for the team in terms of the fact he can still get in the box and score goals, He won't be worried at all.

Gary, himself a former Spurs star then added: "He is playing his part, he's not dropping deep like we've seen from him in the past, he's keeping Serbia deep to make that space for the creative players behind him. He won't care about general touches, just those he can make to put the ball in the back of the net."

During Saturday's MOTD, Gary briefly halted build up of Italy v Albania to speak out about ex BBC pundit Alan Hansen, after the news that the ex Liverpool player was seriously ill in hospital. After remarking it had been a 'tough' week for all involved with the show, having heard about Alan's health, Gary added: "Everyone at Match of the Day sends love and thoughts to Janet, Lucy and Adam and the grandchildren.

"To use an analogy of Lan's favourite past time golf - you might be three down with four to play, but if anyone can come back it's Alan. I've never known a more competitive person in my life. We're all with you Big Al."