Harry Kane: Gareth Southgate suggests England captain not fully match fit after Denmark draw at Euro 2024
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Published 22/06/2024 at 09:39 GMT+1
England boss Gareth Southgate insists his captain Harry Kane has fully recovered from the back injury he suffered at the end of last season. But Southgate also pointed to Kane's lack of recent minutes as to why the Bayern Munich striker was substituted with 20 minutes to go in the 1-1 draw with Denmark on Thursday. Southgate identified his side's weak press as the main issue in Frankfurt.
Southgate: 'No excuses' for England in 'anxious' Euro 2024 draw with Denmark
Video credit: SNTV
Gareth Southgate has suggested Harry Kane is not fully match fit after the England captain was withdrawn with 20 minutes to play against Denmark.
The Bayern Munich striker was part of a triple substitution towards the end of the 1-1 draw in Frankfurt, but Southgate allayed fears Kane was still playing with an injury.
Kane missed the final two games of the domestic season with a back problem, having scored 36 goals in 32 starts for Bayern Munich.
But Southgate insisted Kane was not carrying an injury after the disappointing draw with the Danes, although the England boss admitted his lack of match sharpness played a role in his substitution.
Asked if Kane was playing injury-free, Southgate said: "Yes.
"We felt with the three front players that they played the bulk of the game the other day [against Serbia] and we needed to get some legs onto the pitch,” said Southgate.
"Harry’s only had one 90 minutes in five or six weeks. Given what the other game took out of us, given the heat against Denmark, we needed to press better towards the end of the game, and it was always in our mind that all of the forward players might need freshening at that point.”
Despite extending his all-time national team goalscoring record with the opener in the 18th minute, his 64th in 93 appearances, Kane’s overall performance was questioned by pundits.
And Southgate identified England’s weak press as an area of concern, as well as his side’s poor ball retention.
Southgate said: "It’s because we are not pressing well enough, with enough intensity. We have limitations in how we can do that with the physical condition.
"We can’t press as high up the pitch as we might have done in the qualifiers for example. And we are not keeping the ball well enough. It is as simple as that.
“We have to keep the ball better and build with more control. Then we will be defending less and we’ll have more confidence."
And in the face of a clear lack of energy, particularly out of possession, Southgate brushed off accusations that the players’ effort should be called into question.
“Well, there can be no suggestion that they are not trying,” Southgate said. “They are running, they are giving everything, but at the moment the emotion and the way we are playing isn’t calm in the moments we need it to be.
“To go to the stages of the competition that we want to end up in, that has to be better. We know that.”
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‘Have to find a way’ - Southgate admits England need improvement after draw with Denmark
Video credit: SNTV
Asked if he would make any changes for England’s final group game against Slovenia on Tuesday, Southgate kept his cards close to his chest.
"We’ll have a look at everything," Southgate said. "We felt the right thing to do was to give confidence to the players we picked in the first game.
“We had won the previous game, the guys who came in for the previous game, we were very happy with what they contributed so we have to do the same process after this match.
“We’ll look at the performance and look at the next opponent and find the best solutions for the next game."
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