England’s Harry Kane praises ‘good steps’ towards World Cup win under Thomas Tuchel
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England manager Thomas Tuchel preparing substitutes (from left) Anthony Gordon, Jarrod Bowen and Morgan Rogers during England's 2-0 World Cup qualifying win over Albania at Wembley on March 21.
PHOTO: EPA-EFE
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MUNICH – Harry Kane said on March 29 that new England manager Thomas Tuchel had already made “good steps on and off the pitch” that could help the Three Lions win the World Cup in 2026.
Speaking after Bayern Munich’s 3-2 win over St Pauli in the Bundesliga, England captain Kane insisted that his first international break with Tuchel had been “really good”.
“There’s a lot of work to be done, but we made some good steps on and off the pitch which will hopefully help us win the World Cup,” he said.
Kane, who played under Tuchel at Bayern last season, said he was delighted to be reunited with his former coach in the national team.
“I obviously had a really good relationship with him here and I was excited to work with him again,” he said. The Bayern striker also defended Tuchel, who had faced criticism in England over his blunt appraisal of the team’s performances at Euro 2024 under predecessor Gareth Southgate.
“Maybe it was taken a bit out of context. There were moments in the tournament where we didn’t quite look ourselves and that was probably what he was alluding to. Thomas will have stuff he wants to change and stuff he wants to keep,” said Kane.
“We’ve been building a good environment with England for a while now. In the last camp, we already saw small changes that we are going to need to hopefully push us over the line at the World Cup.”
Unlike Kane, former Spurs manager Harry Redknapp is less enamoured by Tuchel.
He labelled Tuchel a German spy and appeared to perform a Nazi salute, according to a video posted on The Guardian’s website.
Redknapp made the remarks at a London event when asked whether England had been right to appoint the German.
“I don’t know,” said the 78-year-old, before making comments designed to amuse his audience. “I’ll be honest with you, I think he’s a German spy. I’m telling you.”
Redknapp joked that Tuchel, formerly in charge of Paris-Saint German, Chelsea and Bayern, had been sent to England to create problems for the Three Lions.
“He has,” he added. “Listen, I’m telling you, he’s like Lord Haw Haw in the war – ‘We have your best soldiers captured’ and all that.”
Lord Haw Haw, whose real name was William Joyce, was a radio personality who broadcast German propaganda to Britain during World War II.
In the video, Redknapp imagines an instruction given to Tuchel – “Go over and ruin that team”. He then puts on a German accent, saying “Ja” and lifts his left arm in a gesture that appears to resemble a Nazi salute.
The remarks were made before England’s 2-0 win against Albania on March 21 and a 3-0 victory against Latvia on March 24, according to The Guardian.
Tuchel, who replaced Gareth Southgate in the England hot seat, is the third non-British permanent manager of the men’s national team after Sweden’s Sven-Goran Eriksson and Italian Fabio Capello.
The 51-year-old has been given an 18-month contract with a daunting brief to qualify for and win the 2026 World Cup.
Redknapp was the last English manager to win a major domestic trophy – the 2008 FA Cup with Portsmouth – before Eddie Howe led Newcastle United to victory against Liverpool in the League Cup final on March 16. AFP
