Harry Kane dropped by Lee Carsley amid fallout from England captain's blast at team-mates
England captain Harry Kane - who slammed team-mates on Wednesday - has been left on the bench by England interim boss Lee Carsley for the UEFA Nations League match against Greece
by Tom Victor · The MirrorEngland captain Harry Kane has been left out of the England starting XI for their match against Greece.
Kane questioned some of his fellow internationals in the lead-up to the match, after England were hit with eight withdrawals. Jarrad Branthwaite took that total up to nine on Wednesday, with Jarell Quansah taking the place of the Everton defender.
Interim England boss Lee Carsley is taking charge of his final two matches before handing the reins to new permanent boss Thomas Tuchel. The Three Lions are away in Greece on Thursday, before rounding off their UEFA Nations League campaign at home to Ireland on Sunday.
Kane wore the armband in three of the four earlier Nations League games under Carsley, but missed out on the home meeting with Greece after failing to recover from injury in time. It is understood Carsley always planned on starting Ollie Watkins ahead of Kane, even before the captain's interview was released on Wednesday afternoon.
Former England star Paul Merson defended those who withdrew. "Yeah, I can understand that but at the same time Rice wasn't fit, Saka came off with about 10, 15 minutes to go in probably a must-win game for Arsenal [against Chelsea ] at the time," he told Sky Sports News.
"Palmer wasn't fit, you saw him hobbling after. It is a bit about timing and the circumstances… obviously, the manager's [Carsley] last game, the new manager [Tuchel] ain't there, you can put all this stuff together and you can put two and two together and come up with five.
"I'll go with the players on this one, but again, this is a big football match. We need to win this football match to get back to the big table with the big nations because otherwise we're going to play these countries again and that's when you get withdrawals at the same time."
In Kane's absence, Kyle Walker is captaining England. He's part of a back four which also contains his Manchester City team-mate Rico Lewis, with Marc Guehi and Ezri Konsa in the middle.
Curtis Jones has been handed a start after his impressive Liverpool form earned him a recall. Atletico Madrid's Conor Gallagher and Real Madrid's Jude Bellingham will bring a Spanish flavour to the side.
Watkins leads the line as expected. Either side of the Aston Villa star are Chelsea's Noni Madueke and Anthony Gordon, with Morgan Rogers and Jarrod Bowen available from the bench after being added to the squad.
Have England got the selection right? Have your say in the comments section
If Kane comes on as a substitute, it will be the first time he has done so since the friendly victory over Bosnia and Herzegovina in the lead-up to Euro 2024. On that occasion, he scored the third goal in a 3-0 victory.
The Bayern Munich star remains England's all-time record scorer with 68 goals. Two of those have come in the current Nations League campaign, both in a 2-0 victory over Finland.
Carsley's team have nine points from their four matches, having lost at home to Greece. A two-goal win in the return feature would still leave them in pole position for top spot and promotion, though, as it would leave them level on points with Greece and with a superior goal difference
Kane indicated he wasn't delighted by the number of withdrawals. Arsenal duo Bukayo Saka and Declan Rice, Liverpool defender Trent Alexander-Arnold and Chelsea forward Cole Palmer are among those to drop out.
"I think England comes before anything," Kane told ITV. "It comes before club and it is the most important thing you play as a professional footballer. Gareth [Southgate[ was hot on that and he wasn't afraid to make decisions if that started to drift from certain players.
"It's a shame this week obviously. Yeah, I think it's a tough period of the season and maybe that's been taken advantage of a little bit. I don't really like it if I'm totally honest. I think as I just said there England comes before anything, any club situation.
"The joy to play for England. I think Gareth brought that back. Every camp, people were excited to come, every camp people wanted to play for England and, yeah, that's the most important thing."
"The focus all camp has been on the players that are here," Carsley told reporters. "It's important that we make the most of the situation. With the amount of players that have pulled out, it gives other players an opportunity to be here. The focus has been purely on the players that are here.
"It's [Harry's] opinion. I can only deal with what's in front of us. November is a challenging window, in the past we've had eight or nine call-offs. I know the Under-21s and Under-20s have had a lot of players pull out as well, so I think it's definitely that period of the season.
"I think fatigue and small injuries have played a part in it. It's a brilliant opportunity for other players on the outside of the squad. Now it's their chance."
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