England captain Harry Kane to have fitness assessed ahead of Denmark qualifier

Skipper: Harry Kane
AFP via Getty Images
Dan Kilpatrick @Dan_KP7 September 2020

Gareth Southgate will assess Harry Kane's fitness ahead of Tuesday's Nations League qualifier against Denmark but insists England are no longer reliant on their captain for goals.

Kane was denied to chance to become the first Englishman to score in seven consecutive post-War internationals when his early goal was wrongly ruled offside during Saturday's last-gasp 1-0 win over Iceland.

The Tottenham striker has scored 19 of England's 61 goals since the start of the 2018 World Cup but was replaced in the 78th-minute in Reykjavik, with the visitors still chasing a winner, which Raheem Sterling finally provided with a stoppage-time penalty.

It was Kane's first appearance of pre-season after he was forced into quarantine but is expected to keep his place in Copenhagen, with Southgate to assess the condition of his players on Monday.

"The most important thing over the next couple of days is to really assess who can do that," the England manager said. "[Harry's fitness] will be an important decision. Energy will be key.

"Harry is a supreme goalscorer and he is critical to the way we play. Equally, we have some tremendous threats which will be clear as the next few months develop, with Raheem in particular. Jadon Sancho, Mason Mount coming through, Marcus Rashford, of course, at home [injured].

"The nice thing is that we won’t be leaning just on Harry and I think goals can come from elsewhere. But he’s still a critical part of what we do."

And Southgate insisted Kyle Walker's international career is not over after the Manchester City defender was recklessly sent off in Iceland.

Walker will now miss the chance to earn his 50th cap on Tuesday but said after the game he hoped he would "be back" for England.

In Pictures | Iceland vs England | 05/09/20

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Southgate is expected to start Trent Alexander-Arnold against the Danes but Kieran Trippier or Ainsley Maitland-Niles could also play at right-back, while Manchester United's Aaron Wan-Bissaka missed out on the squad.

"Kyle knows he made an error that shouldn't have happened," said Southgate. "He's been very open and honest, holding his hands up to that.

"He's still a very experienced player. There is competition for places. I think Kieran Trippier did an excellent job at left-back.

"He was defensively very solid, used the ball securely and allowed us to keep our midfield players a bit higher and our wingers wider.

"So, yes, there are other players in those positions, there is that competition. I'm certainly not going to rule out Kyle in the long term on that one moment."

It was Southgate's first red card as England boss but two of the three players who were sent off while he was in charge of the Under-21s – Andre Wisdom in September 2013 and Jordon Ibe in March 2015 – were never picked again.

"Players I've left out previously from any squad, it won't have been because of just one situation," he said.

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