What has Kane said?
“Gareth is within his rights to make the changes he thinks are best for the team,” Kane said when asked about being substituted in both of England’s matches.
“What we’ve learned over past tournaments is about trying to peak at the right time. The best time to be peaking is in the knockout stages and hopefully kick on from there. Maybe in Russia there were times, towards the quarter- and semi-final, when I wasn’t as sharp as I wanted to be. In the end we didn’t get to where we wanted to go, maybe partly for that reason.
“It’s about managing the squad, making sure everyone is feeling as fit and sharp as possible. In my case, it was a tough couple of games and it’s about making sure I’m right for the rest of them. I didn’t have any issues. I didn’t feel physically I wasn’t up to it. I felt going into those games as good as I’ve felt all season, if I’m honest.”
Kane also dismissed the idea that publicising his determination to leave Spurs has affected his performances.
“Absolutely not,” the 27-year-old said. “All my focus is on how I can help this team and how we can be successful in this tournament. I understand from a media point of view there is speculation but I am fully focused on the job here.”
How did Kane perform against Scotland?
Kane struggled to make an impact in the game at Wembley Stadium.
He had just 19 touches — the fewest the Tottenham Hotspur forward has ever made in an international fixture — during his time on the pitch and failed to produce a single shot on target before being replaced by Marcus Rashford in the 74th minute.
How have England performed so far?
England have had a muted start to the Euros after scraping a 1-0 win in their opener over Croatia, who beat England in the 2018 World Cup semi-finals in Russia, and failing to break down a dogged Scotland side in front of the home fans at Wembley.
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