Tuchel does not have ‘anymore words’ for Kane ahead of landmark England appearance

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

Thomas Tuchel says he has run out of words to describe Harry Kane, with the England captain in line to earn his 125th cap against Czechia on Tuesday.

Should he play at Wembley, Kane would equal Peter Shilton as the all-time record appearance maker for the England men’s national team in this match.

Kane has 21 goals in his last 22 appearances for the Three Lions and has scored three goals in four games against Czechia.

Following a disappointing 3-2 loss to Spain in their opening Nations League match, England have since beaten Czechia and Croatia – who they thumped 7-0 – with Tuchel ready to rotate his squad ahead of the final match of the break.

While Tuchel did not give away too many hints about his squad selection, he was full of praise for the 33-year-old.

“I’m not sure I have anymore words,” Tuchel said about Kane.

“He’s on the shortlist for the Ballon d’Or. We’ve spoken so often about him, and I try to find new words which then make no sense!

“Everything he does, he does it on the highest level; he does it consecutively, and I am very sure he will be the one leading the team out onto the training pitch.

“He will lead the team in the warm-up and not do one step less or one step slower. That is the level he has.

“Since he took this major role for Bayern Munich, he found a new level. It’s the highest level, on and off the pitch.

“All these number nines in world football, no matter in which league, they are built a bit different.

The first #ThreeLions player to score 10+ goals in three different calendar years  @HKane loves scoring goals! https://t.co/Qt9o1GEUkB

— England (@England) October 4, 2026

“They don’t only do it so their team wins; they also do it for themselves and for the records: ‘How many can I score? How many can I assist? Where is the next record?’

“That’s what drives them, and it’s good that drives them. You will not find a striker of this calibre who does not have these individual goals.”

One of the players Tuchel will definitely be without is Alex Scott, who withdrew from the squad with a thigh injury on Monday.

Reports suggest Bournemouth are unhappy with how England have managed the 23-year-old’s issue, given he could be out for up to eight weeks during a busy period for the club.

But Tuchel insists England took no risks with Scott’s fitness when they chose to start him against Croatia.

“On a human level, I feel bad that he does not get his next cap [against Czechia],” says Tuchel. “In my mind, he started [the game].

“I would not have taken any risk, even if it was a big opportunity for him. We wanted him to start, but if we had the slightest idea it was a risk [to play him], we would not have taken it. We never do this.

“We – the medical and physical departments – are always in communication with all the players who are with us.

“We share information; this is a totally open process. I can understand that Bournemouth are not happy because they lose a key player.

“But I can just say that from the moment we took the decision, there was absolutely not risk apparent to me or our physical staff. It’s a one-off.”

England are unbeaten in all eight of their games against Czechia at Wembley Stadium (W6 D2), the most recent of which saw the Three Lions finish their Euro 2020 group stage campaign with a 1-0 win.

However, they were beaten by Spain at the national stadium earlier in this international window.

England last lost back-to-back competitive home matches between November 1999 (v Scotland) and October 2000 (v Germany) under Kevin Keegan.

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