Gareth Southgate declared Harry Kane is in perfect condition to play for England against Denmark as he insisted he would never take a risk with the fitness of any of his charges and that no one has been injured because he has overworked them.
The England captain missed Thursday's win over Wales and only came on for the final 24 minutes of Sunday's 2-1 victory against Belgium after suffering from a muscle problem.
But while Tottenham manager Jose Mourinho had gone public before the international break with his wish for England to use Kane sparingly, Southgate played down talk of a club-versus-country row as he nevertheless defended his right to select the striker at Wembley tonight.
“I don’t really understand the story because he has been fit since the end of last week,” Southgate said. “Where that is coming from is not the conversations we have been having medically with Spurs and is not affecting us in the camp. He would have started the last game but hadn’t had enough training time. He is fit and available.
“He hasn’t had an injury. He was feeling delayed muscle soreness which can happen to athletes. We don’t risk players. I have been a player. My priority has always been the welfare of players.
“We have never lost a player through an error in our training loading. We pride ourselves on looking after our players. Our issue on Sunday with Harry was if he could perform at the highest level. Now he has a couple more days training it is not even an issue.”
Kane is likely to replace Dominic Calvert-Lewin in attack as Southgate challenged his young team to build on their victory against the world’s top-ranked side, rather than repeating last month’s stalemate with Denmark.
“The result on Sunday was only really good if we get a win against Denmark,” he said. “To be a top team we have to do that consistently. This team has some experience but for Marcus [Rashford] at 23, Dominic Calvert-Lewin at 23, Declan Rice at 21, Trent [Alexander-Arnold] at 22 and Mason [Mount] at 21, it was a really brilliant experience.”
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England v Belgium player ratings
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ENGLAND RATINGS: Jordan Pickford - 7: Dealt with most things thrown at him and one thumping pass almost put Marcus Rashford through on goal. Reuters -
Kyle Walker - 9: The Manchester City defender was ubiquitous on a night he won his 50th cap and his manager's trust again. AFP -
Eric Dier - 6: Giving away unnecessary penalties is becoming the Tottenham defender's forte. Reuters -
Harry Maguire - 7: He and Dier both struggled against Lukaku's physicality early on but both improved markedly in the second half. AFP -
Trent Alexander-Arnold - 6: A subdued performance but provided the only quality ball in open play that led to Mount's winner. Reuters -
Declan Rice - 7: Struggled to get the better of the wily Witsel in the first half but dominated the Dortmund man in the second. Reuters -
Jordan Henderson - 6: Went down theatrically to win the penalty that levelled the tie. AFP -
Kieran Trippier - 7: Looked a square peg in a round hole on the left side of England's defence. Grew into the game though and made some timely interventions. AFP -
Mason Mount - 6: A surprise choice ahead of Jack Grealish and did little to justify it before his deflected effort decided the match. Reuters -
Marcus Rashford - 6: Another who had a subdued night but banged in a penalty that turned the match in England's favour. AFP -
Dominic Calvert-Lewin - 7: Some lovely hold up play with England under the cosh in the first half but precious little to feed on in front of goal. AFP -
SUBS: Harry Kane (on for Calvert-Lewin) - 5: Took the sting out of the game drawing fouls off the Belgium defenders but missed an absolute sitter. EPA -
Kalvin Phillips (on for Henderson) - 6: The Leeds man does not look out of place on the international stage. EPA -
Reece James (on for Alexander-Arnold) - 6: One of four England right-backs to get game time. The Chelsea defender snapped at the heels of Carrasco and Castagne. AFP -
Jadon Sancho (on for Mount) - NA: No time to make an impact. AFP -
BELGIUM RATINGS: Simon Mignolet - 6: Only playing due a raft of injuries but the Club Bruge man could do nothing about either England goal. AFP -
Toby Alderweireld - 7: Hardly troubled and can feel unlucky that Mount's shot looped up off his attempted block for the winner. Reuters -
Dedryck Boyata - 7: Solid showing from the Hertha Berlin defender at the heart of Belgium's three-man defence. Reuters -
Jason Denayer - 7: Comfortably dealt with most things thrown at him but was caught on his heels as substitute Kane nearly connected with a corner. AFP -
Thomas Meunier - 7: Will probably be one of the few players anywhere cursing the absence of VAR after giving away a soft penalty for England's equaliser. Reuters -
Youri Tielemans - 6: The 23-year-old will be a linchpin of this Belgium side for years to come but his manager will be concerned how he and midfield partner Witsel wilted once England had the wind in their sails. AFP -
Axel Witsel - 6: Looked pure silk until Rice nailed him with a crunching tackle just before half time. Went missing there after. Reuters -
Timothy Castagne - 7: Showed why Leicester were prepared to pay big money to bring him to the Premier League. Will be kicking himself for wandering offside that saw Carrasco's early strike ruled out though. AFP -
Yannick Carrasco - 8: Belgium's brightest player as they battered England in the first half and was unlucky not to get on the scoresheet before being replaced late on. Reuters -
Kevin de Bruyne - 8: The pass that picked out Carrasco in the second half was precision personified. It deserved a better finish. Reuters -
Romelu Lukaku - 8: The Inter Milan striker was brute force and subtle flicks in the first half before being snuffed out by England's back three in the second. Reuters -
SUBS: Yari Verschaeren (on for De Bruyne) - 5: The 19-year old came on to win a sixth Belgium cap saw little of the ball. Reuters -
Jeremy Doku (on for Carrasco) - NB: The Rennes teenager earned a second cap. EPA
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Southgate will be forced into a further change after both the injured Ben Chilwell and Kieran Trippier were ruled out, leaving Ainsley Maitland-Niles and Bukayo Saka the likeliest choices at left wing-back.
Trippier, who captained England against Wales, left the squad to attend an English Football Association hearing about betting charges relating to his 2019 move to Atletico Madrid. The defender could be banned for up to six months.
“It's not something that's in my control,” Southgate said. “This is another distraction, but I've got to plough on through. It is not ideal but we are used to dealing with these things.
“It is so hard to have a squad without withdrawals and injuries. The number of matches everyone has is adding to it. Last month we were without Marcus, Harry Maguire and Jordan Henderson. Even on Sunday we start without Harry and Raheem [Sterling]. We have to be adaptable.”
Cristiano Ronaldo has become the latest of a spate of players to test positive for coronavirus while with his country but Southgate defended the decision to play internationals, explaining: "If that is the argument then it applies to club football as well. There are positive tests everywhere in our society and football is going to be no different. What we are trying to do is to make sure the environment is as secure as it can be."
Rashford, who was awarded an MBE for his efforts to get free school meals for children from disadvantaged backgrounds, said his charity work is not distracting from his football.
“I feel in a good head space and am comfortable with doing the two things,” he said. “If it was taking a toll then I would have to look at a different way of doing things and find a different way to support the kids.”
