England was awash in fury and despair following the nation’s loss in the 2024 European Championship final to a classy Spain side. One of the many queries born from these emotions was a focus on Bayern Munich’s Harry Kane’s underwhelming performance in the final, with the superstar striker substituted on the hour mark as the narrative that he was carrying an injury spread like wildfire.
So, when (now former) England head coach Gareth Southgate spoke in the post match press conferences, as captured by Liverpool.com, about the fatigue and injuries the side had suffered, it was only natural that reporters were going to follow up with the question of “What about Kane? What was the problem with him?”
Southgate had this to say: “Harry came into the tournament having had an injury at the end of the season. He’s played a lot of minutes. We’ve tried to manage those minutes as best as we could. We’ve lost a lot of leadership from the group from the injuries to [AFC Ajax’s] Jordan Henderson and [Manchester United’s] Harry Maguire, so a lot has fallen on Harry [Kane’s] shoulders. He’s done that exceptionally well.”
But the former Middlesbrough manager insisted any injury or load concerns were not the reason the Bayern Munich star had been subbed off. “We just felt that we needed pressure on their center backs and to have a runner in behind, which is why we put Ollie Watkins on in the end.”
It makes sense. Why would the then-England manager prioritize managing any player’s minutes in the final of a tournament? Bayern will desperately hoping there is no real injury issues holding Kane back when he eventually arrives at the club for preseason.