Thomas Tuchel has announced that Harry Kane will not participate in England’s friendly match against Wales on Thursday and has identified three players who are contenders for the captaincy in his absence.
Kane has been in exceptional form for Bayern Munich this season, netting 18 goals in just ten matches across all competitions, which brings his impressive overall total for the Bundesliga club to 103 goals in 106 games.
However, the 32-year-old will miss the encounter at Wembley due to a minor injury sustained during Bayern’s 3-0 victory over Frankfurt.
“Harry will be absent for the game,” Tuchel confirmed in his pre-match press conference. “He took a knock in his last game with Bayern Munich. It would be too risky for him to play and potentially suffer further pain. We are optimistic that he will be fit for the match against Latvia.”
The England manager was subsequently questioned about Kane’s placement in 13th for the Ballon d’Or, acknowledging that he does not closely monitor individual accolades.
“I never know when the Ballon d’Or is or what the rankings are. I’m the last person to get that information. I’m not particularly fond of individual awards because I genuinely believe in football, winning is a team effort, and he excels in his role. He should definitely rank higher than 13th,” he stated.
Tuchel then disclosed which three players are being considered to captivate the Three Lions at Wembley.
“The candidates for captaincy include Jordan Henderson, John Stones, and Declan Rice,” he said.
“I’m thrilled that John Stones is in the squad. I saw how disappointed he was the last time he had to leave. He is a deep thinker, intelligent, and very perceptive. Having him, alongside Jordan and Declan, is beneficial as they embody the qualities needed to be a professional and a team player.”
“They uphold such high standards, which is contagious, elevating everyone’s performance. That is why John is a remarkable leader.”
Regarding his objectives for the match, Tuchel noted: “We might have started with the same squad had everyone been available. Now we’ll have to explore other options. We have had only a very brief period to prepare for the match.”
“I anticipate a challenging and intricate game against a well-trained team. This will be quite complicated. We have sufficient time to finalize the lineup, so that shouldn’t pose a problem.”
“For me, the preparation doesn’t differ much due to it being a friendly. I don’t lower the standards of team preparation, nor do I reduce the frequency or quality of meetings.”
“We are competing against our own standards, which the team established in the last camp. The players are crucial because they consistently maintain those high benchmarks.”
