Lee Carsley has confirmed whether Harry Kane will start England’s all-important Nations League clash against the Republic of Ireland on Sunday.
The Three Lions host the Boys in Green at Wembley, knowing that victory will guarantee promotion back to the top tier of the Nations League.
It is also interim manager Carsley’s final match in charge before former Chelsea boss Thomas Tuchel takes over the team.
Carsley has not been afraid to take bold risks during his short tenure and did so again earlier this week when he dropped captain Kane to the bench for the trip to Greece.
The striker, England’s all-time leading goalscorer, has scarcely been benched when fit and was forced to watch on as replacement Ollie Watkins opened the scoring in the 3-0 win in Athens.
Kane did come on for the Aston Villa talisman after 66 minutes but Carsley has now revealed that the Bayern Munich man will return to the starting XI against Ireland.
‘He is definitely playing tomorrow,’ the 50-year-old said in his pre-match press conference on Saturday.
‘Not only with Harry Kane do you think goals but he brings a lot more to the squad and the team. His leadership skills; he’s a good guy which is really important as well, the example he sets for the younger players.
‘He’s a crucial part of the England team [now] and moving forward. I’m looking forward to seeing him again tomorrow.
‘Harry brings something different to Ollie Watkins but what they both do is score goals. Harry has shown in the past he’s very versatile in the way he can play and it’s important we always play to his strengths.’
One player who definitely won’t start the game is Ezri Konsa after it was confirmed that the defender had left the England camp after coming off injured during the Greece win.
The Villa star is the latest to withdraw from Three Lions duty, with Kane previously expressing his frustration with the number of players that had pulled out over fitness concerns.
His comments have divided fans and pundits but he stands by them, saying on Saturday: ‘I didn’t expect it to get as much coverage as it did but it’s my opinion.
‘November has always been a tough camp – you’re in a lot of [club] games. These are the camps where you build this togetherness that leads you into a World Cup.’
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