Harry Kane is frustrated with players who turn down call-ups to the England national team, head coach Thomas Tuchel has revealed. The striker is set to lead the “Three Lions” against Croatia in a Nations League match and, if he features, will become the most-capped player for the country’s men’s team.
Kane has equalled Peter Shilton’s record of 125 appearances. The match against Croatia will be his 126th and will put him alone at the top of the rankings. A ceremony has been planned before the game, at which Shilton will pay tribute to the new record-holder.
At a pre-match press conference, Tuchel said that the captain does not understand the decisions of some of his teammates to miss camps when they have judged their chances of playing to be “50-50”.
“He would never turn it down. Never,” Tuchel said of Kane.
The head coach added that the two had discussed the standards for representing the national team when he first took charge. According to Tuchel, Kane wants players to arrive at camps feeling that representing their country is the greatest honour.
Tuchel also outlined the principle he wants to establish in the squad: a player who misses a camp without a sufficiently serious reason should risk losing his place in the team. Cole Palmer’s absence from the November squad also fits into this context.
The “Chelsea” midfielder was not included in the squad for the matches against Croatia and Spain. Palmer withdrew from England’s previous camp, with the reason described differently in separate reports — as a congested schedule or as an issue related to an injury.
Sky Sports reported that Tuchel left Palmer out of the squad after the player missed the previous camp and lost the opportunity to impress the head coach. The coach himself, however, said that the decision was not personal and that the door to the national team remains open.
Kane goes into the match against Croatia as England’s all-time leading scorer with 91 goals. The striker makes no secret of his ambition to reach 100 goals as quickly as possible.
“Now is not the time to rest,” Kane said.
The captain believes he still has years ahead of him with the national team. He has warned Declan Rice and Jude Bellingham that he will try to leave them a high standard to chase, speaking of the possibility of reaching first 140 and then 150 appearances for England.
Kane admits that his greatest fear is ending his career with the feeling that he could have done more. Before that, however, he is set for a record-breaking night at “Wembley”, where he will receive recognition for his achievement and for winning the “Ballon d’Or”.