Former Ballon D’or winner and French legend rates Lampard very highly…
Zinedine Zidane reckons that Chelsea’s 35-year-old midfielder Frank Lampard is still England’s key player, reports BBC Sport.
Lampard has not been an automatic first-choice for England under Roy Hodgson, often benched to make way for Tom Cleverley or Michael Carrick, with captain Steven Gerrard regarded as a guaranteed starter.
Zidane, who won both the World Cup and the European Championships with France at international level, thinks the goalscoring midfielder is England’s most important player.
“The one England player that is standing out and is really a leader is Lampard,” he said.
The midfielder is set to win his 100th cap in England’s crucial World Cup qualifier against Ukraine in Kiev on Tuesday evening, but the achievement will be overshadowed if Roy Hodgson’s men don’t come away with at least a draw.
England need positive results in the their last three matches against Ukraine Poland and Montenegro is they want to qualify automatically for next summer’s World Cup in Brazil.
Zidane thinks England will definitely qualify, and will even have a chance of winning the tournament next summer.
“I am sure they are going to make a great World Cup because they have a strong team and I am sure they are going to do something interesting, but it is going to be tough in Brazil,” continued the ex-Real Madrid and Juventus playmaker.
“Every team has a chance when they are in the final rounds and England is one of them. England is a great team as a whole.”
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