Ben White's chances of emulating Steve Foster 39 years ago appear to have receded.

And not just because England could really do with winning the group.

Back in the World Cup of 1982, Albion defender Foster played in the third match of the opening group stage with England already through.

His part, in place of the rested Terry Butcher, in a 1-0 win over Kuwait remains the last England appearance by an Albion player at a major tournament.

England do not have that sort of luxury at Euro 2020.

A 0-0 draw against Scotland, when White was left put of the matchday 23, nudged them closer to qualification.

But their place in the knockout stages is by no means certain going into the final round of fixtures tomorrow.

There is an argument that going through as runner-up is better than winning the group given how the draw works.

It is an argument which is based on avoiding opposition from the particularly strong Group F.

But that theory is flawed if the ambition for England extends beyond reaching the quarter-finals.

True, top spot in the group would see England face a side from the group involving Spain, Sweden, Poland and Slovakia in the last 16.

But the following stage would see them face the winners of the mighty Group F in St Petersburg.

By contrast, top spot for England would see them face the Group F runners-up at Wembley, albeit in the last 16.

England could certainly do with a lift – and a show of attacking flair – against the Czech Republic.

They came in for as much criticism after the draw with Scotland on Friday as they did praise when they beat Croatia 1-0 in their opener.

Harry Kane has taken plenty of flak but boss Gareth Southgate made it clear he would stick by the Tottenham man.

“You can assume that, yes, absolutely,” Southgate replied when asked if Kane would keep his place.

“He is fundamental not only to the goals he scores but the build-up play and everything else he brings.

“I know there will be a lot of questions being asked about him at the moment but he has been through that 100 times before and I have answered that in this role several times in the past and he has come up with the goals that have won us the next games and I expect that to be the same moving forward.”

Southgate went on to explain why he had taken Kane off in both matches so far this summer and hailed the 27-year-old striker as his key man.

He told ITV Sport: “In one of the games we were already ahead and we needed energy to press and keep the lead, we didn’t need an additional goal.

“During the World Cup, we ended up with him playing a lot of football and we’ve felt the need to manage that load a little bit this time and we have got good options on the bench to bring people into the game.

“But he is our most important player, there is no doubt about that.

“You’ve only got to look at his goalscoring record with us to see his importance to the team.”

Kane’s former Tottenham colleague Kieran Trippier also supported the centre-forward.

Trippier said: “He works so hard for the team, people might not recognise what he does off the ball, the pressing.

“I believe in Harry and I know he will score goals, but it is the work he does for the team. Some people might not recognise what he does, the link-up play.

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“Harry’s chances will come and for sure he will score goals.

“Harry has had an unbelievable season with Spurs. Harry is fit, he’s working hard every single day in training and it’s just about trying to get the chances to him. But he will score goals.

“He’s our captain, he’s our leader. Like I said, he’s a big player for us and we just need to create chances for him to score goals.

“He’s an unbelievable professional and we just need to try and get him on the end of chances and try and create as much for him as we can.”

Back in 1982, there was no reward for coming top of your group.

England were subsequently drawn in a tough second-round section with West Germany and hosts Spain while runners-up France had the easier Northern Ireland and Austria.

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Top spot is up for grabs for England this time and will arguably have its reward.

But, with or without White, they have work to do yet.