Harry Kane criticized England stars for missing Nations League, but Three Lions are better off with new blood

Perhaps Harry Kane’s sparkling midweek comments lit a fire in the end, although not in the electorate he intended. The England captain had called out a group of eight players, many of them among the team’s most senior figures, for withdrawing from November’s Nations League matches.

“I think England comes before anything. England comes before the club,” he told ITV Sport ahead of the Three Lions’ successful trip to Greece on Thursday night, one they made without the likes of Declan Rice, Cole Palmer, Phil Foden, Trent Alexander. -Arnold and Bukayo Saka. “England is the most important thing you play as a professional footballer and Gareth [Southgate] “I was excited about it and wasn’t afraid to make decisions if, you know, that started to deviate from certain players.”

He added: “I think it’s a difficult period of the season, maybe it’s been taken advantage of a little bit. I don’t really like it, if I’m totally honest. I think England comes before anything, any club situation.”

Bayern Munich, whose employers earn $25 million a year, will no doubt have an opinion on such comments. So, it seems, did those tasked with entering the fray in place of some of England’s top internationals, including Kane himself, who was benched by interim head coach Lee Carsley in place of Ollie Watkins. A 3-0 victory in Athens leaves promotion out of the second division of the Nations League back into England’s control.

In reality, however, that shouldn’t be the point. It seems that’s where Kane is dealing with a misunderstanding about where the England team is now. It’s not just that being in these games doesn’t have to be the be all and end all for players. His presence is not the be all and end all of England.

At this point there are few, if any, international teams that know their core squad better than England. Over the past three major tournaments, players have learned what they can be at the peak of their powers, the depths they can go when off-color, and exactly what it takes to dig themselves out of the crater they’ve blown themselves into. What England need most from Rice, Saka, Alexander-Arnold and the rest of their established stars is their fitness and form for the summer of 2026. If that means a fortnight off work in November 2024, they should count on the support of his employer. Who knows if many of that group are not those who regret when the call from England comes.

Thomas Tuchel may have a lot to work on when he takes charge (his first games will be the World Cup qualifiers in March), but Carsley seems to have understood throughout his three windows that the best thing he could do is bleed some of the best and brightest, many of whom he brought in through the Under-21 system.

Would Curtis Jones have driven as hard through the Greek midfield if he had been sharing the field with a limping Rice? Would I have been there in the first place? Same questions, but for Noni Madueke and Anthony Gordon, who offered compelling cases in the absence of Saka and Foden. With the latter struggling to replicate his club’s form on the international stage and so far this season looking more like his England than Manchester City, Tuchel could see the stars of this impressive victory in Athens as worthy starters.

Kane also appears to have a fight on his hands. England, their lead-footed captain at Euro 2024, saw what happens when they have a centre-forward who can stretch into the space behind the defence, and Ollie Watkins’ presence paid dividends after just seven minutes. The hero of England’s semi-final victory over the Dutch may not have needed to experience heightened risk, but many of those around him did.

“It’s important that if we want to put the players in a position to win the World Cup, they have as many experiences as we can,” Carsley said. “I see the quality that the players have. The younger ones are more than capable with the quality and mentality they have.”

They showed it on Thursday, just when England needed it. An age group that has proven its propensity to win titles (2017 U17 world champions, 2023 U21 European champions) had the opportunity to test themselves in a match that is as close to what the Three Lions will have before reach the final. in North America within 18 months (despite the catastrophic qualifying campaign). The Nations League is not the be-all and end-all for a country with higher aspirations, but navigating the embarrassment of a promotion play-off in the spring is nothing. When push comes to shove, England will have a better idea of ​​what their fringe players can offer them.