Kane warned Southgate over England squad ‘worry’ as ‘overpowering’ star got ‘preferential treatment’
England captain Harry Kane told Gareth Southgate during a walk that he ‘was worried’ about the final squad after some notable omissions, according to reports.
Southgate shocked many when he left Jack Grealish and Harry Maguire out of the squad in Germany, although the latter was more widely accepted as he’d been suffering with an injury before joining up with the preliminary England squad ahead of Euro 2024.
Ultimately the omission of the duo was not the reason the Three Lions failed to beat Spain in the Euro 2024 final with Luis de la Fuente’s the better team as they beat England 2-1 in Berlin on Sunday.
But The Athletic have revealed that Kane expressed concern to England boss Southgate at the squad selection in a walk before the tournament got underway.
Oliver Kay wrote in The Athletic:
‘Five and a half weeks before the final, Kane and Southgate went for another walk. This one was at Tottenham Hotspur’s training ground, where England were gathered before their final pre-tournament warm-up match.
‘Kane was worried. He and some of his team-mates were in a state of shock after Southgate, having already left Jordan Henderson and Marcus Rashford out of his pre-tournament squad, omitted Harry Maguire and Jack Grealish from the final group of 26.
‘Southgate had not enjoyed informing youngsters James Trafford, Jarrad Branthwaite, Jarell Quansah and Curtis Jones they had missed the final cut, but they always hoped for inclusion rather than expected it. James Maddison knew the writing was on the wall. Leaving out Maguire and Grealish was going to be much harder.’
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And the Daily Mail have brought the inside track on ‘Where it all went wrong for England’ and the newspaper claims that some players thought Southgate gave Jude Bellingham ‘preferential treatment’ during the tournament.
‘The Madrid star’s influence has grown. His induction into the leadership group of Walker, Kane and Rice was a significant move. But Bellingham’s apparent refusal to participate in the vast majority of England’s media operations is viewed as preferential treatment by many within the camp.
‘Bellingham’s growth will serve England well, yet there is a view that without guidance he could become overpowering.
‘He cut a despondent figure on Sunday night, appearing even to turn his frustration to Southgate in the second half. At full time he stormed off to take a seat in the England dugout, away from the majority of his team-mates who were consoling each other on the pitch, Saka and Stones with tears in their eyes.
‘Bellingham kicked a drinks bucket. Later, he walked back towards the opposite end of the pitch where his disconsolate colleagues were standing. He slumped to the floor again before picking himself up to acknowledge his team-mates. At first glance, not everyone appeared overly keen on Bellingham’s advances.’
