Perhaps Harry Kane’s scintillating comments midweek did light a fire after all, even if not in the constituency he intended. The England captain had called up a group of eight players, many of whom were among the most senior players in the squad, as they withdrew from November’s Nations League matches.
“I think England comes before everything. England comes before club,” he told ITV Sport ahead of the Three Lions’ successful trip to Greece on Thursday evening, a trip they made without the likes of Declan Rice, Cole Palmer, Phil Foden and Trent Alexander. -Arnold and Bukayo Saka. “England is the most important place you play in as a professional footballer and Gareth [Southgate] was enthusiastic about that and he wasn’t afraid to make decisions when certain players started to go astray.”
He added: “I think it’s a difficult period of the season, maybe that has been taken advantage of a bit. I don’t really like it if I’m completely honest. I think England are going for everything, whatever club situation whatsoever.”
Bayern Munich, his $25 million-a-year employer, will no doubt have an opinion on such comments. It looked like those in contention were replacing some of England’s top internationals, including Kane himself, who played interim head coach Lee Carsley on the bench for Ollie Watkins. With a 3-0 win in Athens, promotion to the second level of the Nations League is back in England’s hands.
But really, that shouldn’t be the point. That seems to be the point where Kane is struggling with a misunderstanding about where the England team currently stands. It’s not just that attending these games doesn’t have to be everything for the players. Their presence is not the only one for England.
There are now few, if any, international parties that know their basic template better than England. Over the last three major tournaments, the players have learned what they can be at the height of their powers, the depths they can plumb when off color, and exactly what it will take to dig themselves out of the crater they’ve found themselves in. inflated. What England need most from Rice, Saka, Alexander-Arnold and the rest of their established stars is their fitness and form in the summer of 2026. If that means taking a fortnight off work in November 2024, they should they have the support of their skipper. who knows that many of that group are not the sort to cry wounded when the call-up comes for England.
There may be plenty for Thomas Tuchel to work on when he takes over – his first games will be the World Cup qualifiers in March – but Carsley seems to have understood throughout his three spells that the best he can do is be a part of to bleed his blood. the best and brightest, many of whom he brought through the Under-21 system.
Would Curtis Jones have driven so powerfully through the Greek midfield if he had shared the pitch with a hobbling Rice? Could he have been working on it at all? Same questions, but for Noni Madueke and Anthony Gordon, who both make compelling cases in the absence of Saka and Foden. Given the latter has struggled to replicate his club form on the international stage and has looked more like his England self than Manchester City so far this season, Tuchel may see the stars of this impressive win in Athens as worthy starters.
Kane also looks like he’s in a fight. Their captain, who was so leaden at Euro 2024, saw England see what happens when they have a striker who can stretch into the space behind the defence. Ollie Watkins’ presence paid off after just seven minutes. The hero of England’s semi-final victory over the Netherlands may not have had to experience higher-stakes moments, but many people around him did.
“If we want to put players in a position to win the World Cup, it is important that these players have as much experience as possible,” said Carsley. “I see the quality of the players. The young people are more than capable with the quality and mentality they have.”
They proved that on Thursday, just as England needed. An age group that has proven its propensity for silverware – 2017 U17 World Championships, 2023 U21 European Champions – was given the chance to test itself in the highest-stakes encounter the Three Lions will ever face before heading to the final. field in North America in 18 months (despite the cataclysmic qualifying campaign). The Nations League is hardly the ultimate for a country with greater ambitions, but it is no small feat to avoid the embarrassment of a promotion match in the spring. When the all-out moments come, England will now have a better idea of what their fringe players have to offer them.