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Southgate: Hart deserves England captaincy

The on-loan Manchester City goalkeeper will lead the side against Lithuania, with the Three Lions boss backing him after a poor Euro 2016

Gareth Southgate believes Joe Hart captaining England against Lithuania in Sunday's World Cup qualifier is just reward for the goalkeeper fighting back from his Euro 2016 nightmare.

Hart endured an error-stained tournament in France, most damagingly when he let Kolbeinn Sigthorsson's decisive goal squirm past him in the last-16 defeat to Iceland.

France second string better than England

The 29-year-old was then dumped out of the first-team picture at Manchester City when Pep Guardiola placed Willy Caballero ahead of him in the pecking order and signed Claudio Bravo from Barcelona.