Tuchel Says Record-Cap Kane Would Never Pull Out of England Camp

• Thomas Tuchel says Harry Kane is annoyed by England players who treat coming to camp as a 50-50 decision, per the Daily Mail.
• Kane, 33, will win his 126th England cap against Croatia at Wembley on Thursday night, which takes him past Peter Shilton.
• Kane is England’s record scorer with 91 goals and says he wants to reach 100.

The Captain Who Sets the Standard Has Spent His Career Proving People Wrong

Harry Kane does not like it when England players pull out of a camp, and Thomas Tuchel has now said so in public. The head coach made the point on the eve of Kane’s 126th cap, the appearance that makes him England’s most capped men’s player.

“He is always here and doesn’t like it if 50-50 decisions are taken by the players not to come to camp,” said Tuchel.

A Conversation From Tuchel’s First Days

Several of Tuchel’s camps have been blighted by withdrawals. Cole Palmer’s missed England camps include September, when he pulled out with a “load management” explanation, and the Chelsea playmaker was then left out of the squad for this week’s Nations League fixtures. Tuchel did not name a player in those remarks.

The coach says the subject came up very early and that Kane raised it himself.

“We had this conversation very early when I took the job and it was one of his points, to make sure that players come and are proud to arrive because it’s the biggest honour.”

“We need to make sure that if it happens (withdrawals) we are so strong that we actually set the tone that everybody is desperate to be in camp, because everybody can lose their shirt if they miss out on a camp.”

“So it was one of the first discussions and straight away he set the standard and made it very clear where the standards are for him. He would never pull out. Never.”

Kane Wants 100 England Goals

Kane has 91 England goals. Wayne Rooney retired on 53.

“This is no time to rest,” said Kane. “I’ve got better year on year. While I’m feeling like this, why would I put any limit on myself? I want to get 100 England goals as quickly as possible.”

He also has a message for the next generation. Declan Rice has 80 caps at 27 and Jude Bellingham has 60 at 23.

“Jude and Dec, they’re on 60-odd caps already and you look at how young they are. So I’ll try and give them a good number to catch! Before we know it, it’ll be the home Euros. I might be on 140 caps by then, and then we’ll be talking about 150. My biggest fear is finishing my career and thinking I could have done a bit more. I have an ego to be the best. I just don’t do it in a show-off way.”

He added: “The goal record, of course, is going to be one that’s difficult to beat for a while.”

On leading by example, Kane said:

“I’ve spoken about leading by example and pushing a lot of these younger players. It’s by setting standards, being available every time, getting the caps and scoring the goals. That should help motivate the younger players. If I was younger and I had a player in front of me doing what I was doing, I know that would push me to think: ‘OK, I can score those goals, I can win the Ballon d’Or, I can break the cap record.’ Whilst I’m in this place, it is to try and set these records as high as I can and one day look back to see if anyone can catch them.”

Rejected at Eight and Doubted at Every Step

Arsenal released Kane when he was eight. He had difficult loans from Tottenham to Norwich and Leicester in 2012-13, and the one-season wonder jibes followed his breakthrough campaign in 2014-15. He was ridiculed in 2017 for saying he wanted to match Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo, and again for aiming at the 2018 World Cup Golden Boot. In September 2024 he stood on the verge of his 100th England cap with 66 goals and said he wanted to score 100, and the same reaction followed. His Euro 2024 was underwhelming and he was substituted in the final.

Asked whether he still has points to prove, Kane answered:

“I think it’s just my mindset, because I’ve maybe had to prove people wrong my whole career.”

“From early academy days proving coaches wrong, proving scouts wrong – it has just been instilled in me. I think if someone tells me I can’t do something it just motivates me more to do it.”

“I don’t think that mentality will ever leave me. It’s probably part of what makes me push myself to the limits that I do because in football, you’ve never completed it, really.”

“No matter what you’ve achieved, there is always a trophy that someone else has won or a goal record that someone else has or whatever it may be, I think there’s always something. But it just helps motivate me to realise there’s a lot more to achieve.”

“Whether it’s noise from the outside, from media or the fans … it just helps motivate me to realise there’s a lot more to achieve. My biggest fear is finishing my career and thinking I could have done a bit more … if I could have just done that or done that. I want to make sure I cross every bridge and do everything possible so that whenever that day does come, I can say I’ve done everything possible. And I can sleep well at night.”

Kane also cited Tom Brady.

“When you look at all the great athletes, I’ve spoken before about Tom Brady [the NFL icon] and it’s that unwavering mentality to be the best. Maybe with me, because I’m a calm person and you don’t see … like, the ego of some of these great players and I’m a bit more relaxed … but it doesn’t mean I don’t want it as much as everyone else. That I don’t put in the work and drive myself and everyone around me to be the best.”

“Maybe getting released that early [by Arsenal] and proving them wrong and then maybe proving [wrong] my early coaches at Tottenham, who I wasn’t playing as much [under]. The loan moves that didn’t go well. Same thing. I’m going to show them.”

He called the loans the toughest part of the start of his career.

“There’s been a few lows! The toughest part of my career to begin with was the Norwich and the Leicester loans,” recalled Kane. “But when I look back at it now it gave me a certain type of resilience to help me along the rest of my career.”

The Penalty and the First England Camp

Kane missed a penalty in the 2-1 World Cup quarter-final defeat by France in 2022, among the lowest moments of his England career.

“That was really tough but again it was the way I bounced back,” he said. “And even the fact I scored the next 30 [actually 31] penalties of my career. I changed the technique a little bit and it made me improve. There have been a lot of low points but maybe they are things that have helped me get to where I am now.”

The nerves were there at the start too. Kane felt them in his first England camp.

“I felt nervous coming into my first England camp. I remember Wayne being the first one to talk to me. He was captain at the time and he told me to just be myself and you know it’s kind of relaxed here with the team.”

“But I was always confident once I got on the pitch. I felt this is my comfort zone, I know what I can do, I can score goals.”

A Record Night at Wembley

Shilton, who finished his 20-year career in 1990 as the record holder, will present Kane with a memento of the cap before kick-off. Kane equalled that record in October.

His Ballon d’Or win last month will also be recognised at Wembley, with Rice and Bellingham among the younger players now chasing the numbers he sets.