‘Full package’ Kane deserves Ballon d’Or recognition, says Tuchel

Syndicated reporting provided by Stats Perform and reviewed by the SoccerNews editorial team.

England boss Thomas Tuchel firmly believes Harry Kane should win the Ballon d’Or this year, describing the striker as “the full package”. 

Kane is one of three players being tipped to contend for football’s most prestigious individual award next month, alongside Kylian Mbappe and Lamine Yamal.

That is off the back of a 2025-26 season in which he plundered 65 goals across all competitions for Bayern Munich, before hitting six more to help England finish third at the World Cup, the final tournament to fall in the 2026 Ballon d’Or eligibility period. 

No other player from Europe’s top five leagues scored more than 50 goals in all competitions last term, with Mbappe netting a half-century for Real Madrid.

But speaking in the build-up to England’s 2026-27 Nations League opener against Spain on Saturday, Tuchel said Kane’s game is about much more than his goals, highlighting his out-of-possession work.

Asked if Kane was his pick to be crowned the world’s best player, Tuchel told ITV Sport: “Yeah. After this season, yeah.

“Seventy-plus goals [for club and country], three titles with Bayern Munich, the semi-finals at the World Cup and in the Champions League…

“He’s getting better and better. I think he added a level of physicality to his match. He’s just so committed to the high press and being involved in every part of the match.

“Be it in deep build-up, be it in finishing, be it in build-up play in the middle block, be it in defending. He’s just the full package.”

Our #ThreeLions skipper has finished top of England’s goalscoring charts in nine of the last ten years.

— England (@England) September 24, 2026

Last season, Kane recovered possession 124 times for Bayern, with 34 of those regains being in the final third. Those figures put him below Yamal (176 recoveries, 42 in final third) but ahead of Mbappe (65 recoveries, 30 in final third).

Kane also won 222 duels, less than Yamal’s 381 but more than Mbappe’s 162, and won 20 of his 28 tackles.

Yamal won 32 of 58 for Barcelona, while Mbappe – somewhat remarkably – only won two of six attempted tackles for Madrid, in 44 games. 

After England fell short in the World Cup semi-finals, losing 2-1 to Argentina having gone ahead through Anthony Gordon’s goal, many questioned whether Kane had played his final game at FIFA’s showpiece tournament.

He will turn 37 shortly after the conclusion of the 2030 edition, which will be co-hosted by Spain, Portugal and Morocco, but Tuchel feels he has every chance of featuring.

“Yeah, there’s no problem,” Tuchel said when asked about Kane’s longevity. “Age is age. It doesn’t matter. It’s only about quality, and he has a long way to go.”

After hosting Spain on Saturday, England continue their Nations League campaign away to Czechia next Tuesday, before visiting Croatia and welcoming Czechia back to Wembley Stadium for a swift return fixture. 

England have won just two of their last 13 games against the reigning World Cup holders, losing nine of those matches (D2).

However, one of those wins came at home to Spain in November 2011 (1-0), with the other being away to Germany in March 2016 (3-2).

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