Harry Kane is set to be a shock omission from Lee Carsley’s England team for Thursday’s must-win Nations League match against Greece in Athens.
The captain has travelled to the Greek capital and is not believed to have an injury, with the selection news understood to have caused surprise within a dressing room that has been undermined by a flurry of withdrawals.
Carsley has been keen to try new things during his interim tenure; he started Jude Bellingham and Phil Foden as false 9s in an ultra-attacking lineup against Greece at Wembley last month – which ended in a disastrous 2-1 defeat. He is plainly undeterred and is expected to prefer Ollie Watkins in the No 9 role this time.
Kane has never made any secret about England always coming first for him and, in an interview he pre-recorded with ITV on Tuesday, he worried whether some of his teammates feel the same, saying that club should never come before country. Carsley has seen nine players withdraw from his final squad in interim charge – some are clearly injured but others risk being accused of taking advantage of the situation – and Kane fears that the culture instilled by Gareth Southgate has ebbed away.
“The joy to play for England – he brought that back,” Kane told ITV. “Every camp people were excited to come, every camp people wanted to play for England. That’s the most important thing. England comes before anything. England comes before club. England, it’s the most important thing you play as a professional footballer. Gareth was hot on that.
“He wasn’t afraid to make decisions if that started to drift from certain players. It’s a shame this week. Obviously it’s a tough period of the season. Maybe there’s been a little taking advantage of that. I don’t really like it if I’m totally honest.”
The Everton defender, Jarrad Branthwaite was replaced by Liverpool’s Jarell Quansah after becoming the latest player to pull out on Wednesday. England had already lost Trent Alexander-Arnold, Levi Colwill, Cole Palmer, Declan Rice, Phil Foden, Jack Grealish, Bukayo Saka and Aaron Ramsdale.
Kane was, however, far more positive about the appointment of Tuchel. “I was surprised to be honest,” he said. “I was not expecting it. I worked with Thomas last year and had a really good relationship with him and expected him to go back to club football but I was pleasantly surprised and he was a big part of me going to Bayern Munich. He is an all-round great person and he will bring a lot of energy and passion to the team. You have to try and pick the best coach to win a major tournament and we are at that stage now.
“The only step is to win and Thomas brings a winning mentality. Especially at tournaments, something he excels in. Tactically, he is one of the best managers there is. He had a certain way at Bayern but that was different to Chelsea so it will be interesting to see how he sees us. Tactically he has an amazing brain and he understands all the small things which matter.”
Kane believes that the Football Association have found the right successor for Southgate. “He is straight talking if you are doing well or bad,” he said. “He treats you like an adult and on the pitch he is demanding.”
Carsley, meanwhile, has promised to stay true to his attacking principles against Greece and go in search of the two-goal win that will put his side back on track to return to the top tier of the Nations League. The pressure is on, with England second in Nations League Group B2.
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“It’s important we try and win the game and perform well,” Carsley said. “They are the priorities. The type of team I will pick – as you can probably guess – will be quite attacking. That’s the way I coach and how I want their attitudes to be, I want to attack. Hopefully that will work out well.”
Carsley, who could hand debuts to the Liverpool midfielder Curtis Jones and the Newcastle left-back Lewis Hall, is short of options. He was forced to insist England caps have not been cheapened and he also found himself caught up in a club versus country dispute.
Grealish has not played since 20 October and Pep Guardiola was not impressed to see him selected. However, the Manchester City manager’s suggestion that there had been no contact from the FA’s medical team drew a rebuke from Carsley.
“The medical teams are constantly talking throughout squad selection, regardless of whether there are games or not,” Carsley said. “We are constantly getting updates. The medical departments have brilliant communication between club and country.
“It was always the case we were going to get the players who were potentially going to miss out in to be assessed. Jack was one of them. He was assessed and sent back and it was as clear as that.”
