Super striker Harry Kane from FC Bayern will miss the English national team’s upcoming friendly match.
“He got kicked in his last game with Bayern Munich and it would be too risky for him to get another kick and then be in pain again,” said England coach Thomas Tuchel at the press conference before the game against Wales (Thursday).
Kane did not train with the team on Wednesday. According to Sky Sports, the Bayern attacker worked individually in the English training ground.
The center forward is actually in top form at the moment. The 32-year-old has already scored ten times in ten competitive games for FC Bayern. With 74 goals in 109 international matches, he is also England’s record goalscorer. In the Bundesliga game against Eintracht Frankfurt (3-0) he slightly injured his ankle and had to be substituted early.
“I’m OK, I only had one contact. It’s a place where I’ve already been hit once. But that will be okay in the next few days, I’ll be playing for the national team on Monday,” he said after the game.
Ollie Watkins (Aston Villa), Marcus Rashford (FC Barcelona), Jarrod Bowen (West Ham United) and Anthony Gordon (Newcastle United) are available as replacements in the English attack.
England will face Latvia in the World Cup qualifiers
Next Tuesday England will face Latvia in the World Cup qualifiers. With a win and support from Albania and Andorra against Serbia, the team could secure their World Cup ticket.
Meanwhile, coach Tuchel made headlines with the non-nomination of Jude Bellingham.
Discussions about Bellingham and Tuchel
The German was the “man with the axe”, “the unscrupulous Tuchel”, it was said in the English media when the national coach spurned what was probably the best footballer on the island. Because Tuchel did not name star player Jude Bellingham, among others, in his squad for the upcoming international matches, he is once again the focus of criticism.
“He’s a special player and there can be special rules for special players. But this time we wanted to stick with the same group that worked so well in September,” said Tuchel.
The Real Madrid professional missed the World Cup qualifiers in September due to a shoulder injury. Now that this has been cured, there seemed to be nothing standing in the way of a return to the national team – but Tuchel passed him up again.