- The Three Lions’ captain and record goalscorer missed the 2-1 debacle in Greece on Thursday
- His return is a boost for a team that has struggled with injuries lately.
- AZ FOOTBALL: listen now wherever you get your podcasts or watch them on YouTube. New episodes every Wednesday.
Lee Carsley has praised Harry Kane as he pins his hopes of a bounce-back victory over Finland on the new England captain.
The Three Lions suffered a humiliating 2-1 defeat at the hands of Greece, ranked 48th in the world, at Wembley on Thursday night in a match that hampered the caretaker manager’s chances of becoming full-time manager.
A late equalizer from Jude Bellingham looked to have saved a point for the home side, after Vangelis Pavlidis opened the scoring in the 49th minute, but an injury-time goal sealed a double for the Greek striker and condemned England to the defeat.
Kane was not in the squad for the debacle, having been ruled out with an ankle injury sustained by Bayern Munich in a Bundesliga match, and his absence was keenly felt with Carsley’s attempt to play Jude Bellingham in the stroke.
The centre-forward is back for the trip to Helsinki, much to the relief of his manager, and the former England Under-21 manager has gushed about what the 31-year-old brings to the team.
Lee Carsley has praised Harry Kane as he pins his hopes of a bounce-back victory over Finland on the new England captain.
Kane has scored 68 goals in 100 international matches, including 15 vital goals in major tournaments.
Carsley said: “His goalscoring record for England, Bayern and Tottenham is brilliant”
He said: “They (Kane and Jack Grealish) trained on Friday, they trained today, so in terms of fitness, everything is fine.”
‘What does Harry bring to the team? After seeing the games he has played and the influence he has on the team, he leads by example, he is a really good captain, a great positive person to be around.
‘We always have that when we have something really good in front of us: we’re always looking for the next big thing. But I think we should appreciate what we have in front of us with Harry.
“His goals speak for themselves, what he has done in the past should be hugely respected and I think he still has a lot of games and goals ahead of him, hopefully.”
Asked if Kane, whose 68 goals in 100 caps include 15 vital goals in major tournaments, remains irreplaceable, Carsley said: “He has shown that in the past with the impact he has had.”
“His goalscoring record with England, Bayern and Tottenham is brilliant and something we should really appreciate.”
The Three Lions captain was competing for a ball in the second half of a Bundesliga match against Eintracht Frankfurt when he collided with an opponent and was left lying on the grass and requiring medical attention.
Kane appeared to have suffered an impact to his ankle and, unable to continue while wincing in pain, was taken off by Bayern coach Vincent Kompany.
The club’s physiotherapists could be seen tending to the striker’s right leg as he lay in pain before Mathys Tel came on to replace him with around 20 minutes remaining.
Kane received treatment on his right leg by Bayern physios before leaving the pitch
Vangelis Pavlidis scored twice and the second goal came in added time.
Jude Bellingham thought he had saved his team a point but they conceded it moments later.
Then, surprisingly, Kane reported to England at St George’s Park in Burton-on-Trent along with the rest of the squad and was cleared by the England medical staff, but spent Tuesday and Wednesday doing an individualized program rather than training with the group.
However, he failed to make it to the clash against Greece, which saw the Three Lions slump to defeat, prompting Carsley, who will take charge of at least three more matches, to draw attention afterwards by saying that “hopefully “can return to the U-21.
England will face Finland on Sunday afternoon having beaten Markku Tapio Kanerva’s side 2-0 at Wembley last month thanks to a brace from Kane in his 100th match.
