Striker Kane has been in prolific scoring form, netting 135 goals in all competitions for Tottenham over the last four seasons.
Named captain for the World Cup, he started the tournament by scoring five goals in the first two games to lead Portugal’s Cristiano Ronaldo and Belgium striker Romelu Lukaku – who have four apiece – in the race for the Golden Boot.
Kane was then left on the bench for the full 90 minutes against Belgium.
“I felt the need to sit with him, but he was brilliant, absolutely brilliant,” said Southgate. “He totally understood 100% that the team is first.
“He said ‘look, I know everyone says I want the Golden Boot – of course it’s something I want to do – but the main thing is getting the team through the first knockout’.
“He was excellent on that, showed real leadership and understanding of the big picture.”