New Delhi: After nine players withdrew from what will be Lee Carsley’s final outing with the England team, the captain of the side, Harry Kane, expressed his displeasure with his players’ commitment. Kane felt that the national team should come before clubs.
Speaking to Skysports ahead of the Three Lions’ UEFA Nations League clash against Greece and the Republic of Republic in what will decide their promotion to League A of the competition, Kane noted that the country “comes before anything”. He mentioned that Gareth Southgate was known for ensuring players gave their country the first priority.
Kane felt it was shameful that players hadn’t given the games for England importance. When talking about the desire to play, the 31-year-old felt that this was the challenging part of the season, and that was what has been taken “advantage” of. The Bayern Munich striker still felt that players should have kept their individual clubs second to their country.
🚨🏴 Harry Kane has revealed his disappointment with the number of withdrawals from the England squad this week…
“Gareth Southgate brought the joy to play for England back. Every camp people were excited to come, every camp people wanted to play for England and that’s the… pic.twitter.com/Jrln8405yL
— EuroFoot (@eurofootcom) November 13, 2024
Big names, including Bukayo Saka, Declan Rice, Cole Palmer, and Phil Foden, are missing from the English squad. Jarrad Branthwaite from Everton had previously been called up as one of the replacements but is now the latest player who has withdrawn from national duty. He will be replaced by Liverpool’s Jarell Quansah, who has been training with the Three Lions team for the last couple of days.
England’s squad withdrawal woes in the past
The English squad had earlier missed Foden and Palmer, along with Jude Bellingham and Ollie Watkins, who missed Nations League games in September due to illness and injury. Under interim manager Carsley, England had managed to win games against Finland and Ireland. In the Nations League, during September, they had lost 2-1 to Greece before a win over Finland.
After this month’s match fixture, Thomas Tuchel will take charge of the team. Despite the withdrawals, Carsley noted that this gave opportunity to other players as well. Carsley further noted that November has been a season where players have been known to drop out of national games.
With the added games on the calendar, players have been complaining of fatigue and have been more prone to injuries this season. In Athens, England have to beat Greece and then beat Ireland at home if they want to be promoted to League A of the Nations League after being relegated in 2022.
After nine players drop out of England’s squad, Harry Kane has lashed out at players for not giving England football priority. Football Sports News: Latest Cricket News, Cricket Live Score, Sports Breaking News from Sports Today
