‘No slight on Harry Kane’ – England captain won’t remain benched after surprisingly being dropped by Lee Carsley for must-win UEFA Nations League clash with Greece

Those inside in the Three Lions camp were said to have been left shocked after learning that their all-time leading scorer was to be named among the substitutes for a crucial contest in Athens. Kane has been a talismanic presence for his country over the course of a nine-year international career.

The prolific Bayern Munich striker fills the captain’s armband and has found the target on 68 occasions through 102 appearances. The most recent of those saw him handed 24 minutes off the bench, as he replaced Ollie Watkins in the second half after watching the Aston Villa frontman open the scoring in a vital 3-0 win for England.

Carsley has explained his decision to leave Kane out and assured the 31-year-old that he does have to get used to life among the replacements. England’s interim boss told reporters: “He was absolutely fine [with being left out]. I think it would be fair to say he wants to play every game, like all top players do. But I think he understands that it's important that other players experience that kind of experience that we had tonight.

“He's a great example to the rest of the players. I expect him to start on Sunday and play well. It was brilliant for Ollie to get a goal. I think it is important that if we are going to put these players in a position where we are going to go and win the World Cup then these players need to have as many experiences as they can. It was no slight on Harry. He will start the next game.”

England will be back in action on Sunday when facing the Republic of Ireland at Wembley. A positive result in that contest will secure promotion back to the A section of the Nations League and prevent Thomas Tuchel from facing play-off action when inheriting managerial reins from Carsley on January 1, 2025.