World Cup 2026: England team is built around Harry Kane – he’s the only genuine world-class player in squad, says Gary Neville
Gary Neville believes the England team has been built around Harry Kane, who he considers the only genuine world-class player in the squad.
Kane has enjoyed the best season of his career by scoring 61 goals in 51 appearances for Bayern Munich, which has put him in contention for the Ballon d’Or.
England head coach Thomas Tuchel controversially left out the likes of Cole Palmer and Phil Foden from his World Cup squad in favour of fast wingers that Neville believes will suit Kane’s style.
“He’s a star,” said Sky Sports’ Neville on ITV of the England captain. “You talk about England having talented players, but we have one genuinely world-class player and that is Harry Kane.
“This whole squad that Thomas Tuchel has picked – in the attacking part – is all [to focus] around him.
“There are form issues, but there’s no (Phil) Foden, (Cole) Palmer, (Morgan) Gibbs-White – he wants players who can run past him. Anthony Gordon, Marcus Rashford and Morgan Rogers are players who can sprint past him.
“This whole squad is about Kane. This whole tournament – a lot of it rests upon his shoulders.
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Sky Sports senior reporter Rob Dorsett analyses England’s 3-0 win against Costa Rica in their final warm-up match before the World Cup
“But the pressure? He won’t feel that. He’s as solid as a rock. He’s as good as they come as a professional. You can’t break him.
“You talk about England players who come to tournaments who opposition players can maybe get at, he’s the one where you can’t. He’s absolutely gold.”
Kane has struggled with fitness issues in previous tournaments at the end of a long season, but Neville reckons this squad can help manage his load.
“I don’t think he can tire himself out and run like crazy,” said Neville. “England aren’t going to be pressing from the front with Harry Kane so the game is going to have to be slightly different.
“But he’s got a lot of legs around him. The last thing you want with Kane is players around him who can’t run.
“They can all run, they’ve all got youth and energy. It’s all set up for him. He’s the leader in that group. How many world-class players have England had in the last 20 to 30 years? World-class, where there’s not even a doubt. He’s one of them.”
‘Kane enjoys pressure of being England’s main man’
Kane likes to drop deep off the front line and Sky Sports’ Roy Keane says the striker can’t do it too much.
“No, we certainly don’t [want to see him dropping too deep],” he said on ITV. “There were a couple of examples from the last few years where he’d go in and play off the back four. He’s still dangerous when he drops in from high up the pitch.
“But in terms of the pressure of being the main man for England, he embraces it, he loves it. You look back at his time at Spurs, they were very dependent on him.
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Thomas Tuchel reflects on England’s final World Cup warm-up clash against Costa Rica and is in good spirits about the preparation made ahead of the tournament
“Bayern Munich is a brilliant team and he’s still the star man but he enjoys that pressure. Of course, he needs a bit of service around him and people running in beyond him. But when the ball drops, you want Kane running onto it because his goal record speaks for itself.
“The goals at Bayern Munich are a big boost for him. He’s obviously learned from being in a new league and throwing himself in with better players.”
‘Bellingham’s narky attitude suits him’
Keane reckons Jude Bellingham, who is fighting for his place in Tuchel’s starting XI, is the second in charge behind Kane.
“It seems that way. He enjoys that pressure,” he said. “Yes, he’s had a difficult spell at Madrid, he’s had a few injuries.
“But we’ve seen in the last week, he looks a bit narky, but I think that maybe helps his game. And he’s the player who embraces the pressure of being the main man. Harry is captain and has that title, Bellingham’s not far behind.”
Coping with the pressure and expectation will once again be a factor in England’s mission to win the World Cup for the first time in 60 years.
“If you’re born and raised in England, you should be proud of that achievement,” said Keane of the 1966 success. “Has it added pressure to the players over the last few tournaments? I think sometimes maybe it’s an excuse. I think they should be proud of it and get on with it and embrace it and not feel it’s a pressure.
“If you look at those [1966] players, and go: well if they can achieve it, and England over the last few years have had enough quality, why haven’t we done it?
“There have been a number of reasons for it, but that should maybe spur them on, not put too much pressure on them.”
‘1966 success should inspire – it’s not a curse’
Neville added: “I completely agree. I think there have been too many tournaments with England and there was the expectation that is on us because of the standards that previous great teams have set, and the 1966 team being a pioneering team. If you feel that’s a curse, then you shouldn’t be playing for England.
“You should be inspired by the past, you should be inspired by success, and it’s a failure in mentality when you start to look to the past when it’s been successful and say: oh, they’re causing us a problem because we just get compared to them.
“That’s not the attitude of a winner, and we were unfortunate. The biggest failure that I look at in my football career is the international performances of the teams that I played in. We were never able to go and do what they did, because England demands it, it needs it, but so does every other country and that’s the problem.”
