England hitman Harry Kane has reiterated his criticism of players who pulled out Lee Carseley’s squad, cautioning that their actions could jeopardize the unity fostered under Gareth Southgate’s leadership.
The Three Lions saw eight members of their original squad withdraw due to injuries, with replacement call-up Jarrad Branthwaite also dropping out. This led Kane to express frustration, accusing players of prioritizing their “club over country.”
While many fans have taken issue with Kane’s stance, some have also criticized FIFA for scheduling a third international break so early in the club season. However, the England captain stood firm and refused to backtrack on his comments.
“I think I gave my opinion on the matter,” Kane explained. “I think I probably didn’t expect it to get as much coverage as it did.
“But it was my opinion, just my opinion that England is really important. After a major championship like in the summer, sometimes these September, October and November camps get forgotten a little bit, in terms of how important they are.
“If we win against Ireland it sets us up really well for the year ahead to the World Cup. These are the camps where you build that culture and togetherness that lead you into a World Cup. So it was just a reminder that playing for England is really special.”
He continued: “[The positive culture] takes a long time to build, and maybe not so long to lose if you’re not careful. But I think we’re well aware of that, the experienced players. We have a really open relationship here as players.
“I know it got portrayed as digging out the players, but that wasn’t what I was trying to say. It was just the fact that this isn’t a thing that we want to see regularly, and it hasn’t been the case in recent years under Gareth and that is a really important part of why the team have done really well.”
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