Kane unsurprised by Tuchel's bold omissions and targets Ballon d'Or after 61-goal season

Harry Kane has revealed he was not surprised by Thomas Tuchel’s decision to omit Harry Maguire, Phil Foden and Cole Palmer from England’s World Cup squad, saying the head coach wanted to send a clear message with his selections.

Speaking to L’Équipe, the England captain said Tuchel never consulted him on squad selection but kept in regular contact throughout the season. “He wanted to make a statement,” Kane said. “We never discussed player selection. He simply called me to let me know that I had made the squad.”

Kane acknowledged the personal significance of that call, even after years as England’s first name on the teamsheet. “A World Cup is, after all, a major event; so, even though I had a feeling I would be selected, it was still a very nice feeling to receive that phone call. In fact, it’s going to be tough the day I stop getting called up.”

The Bayern Munich striker described the challenge of combining his roles as goalscorer and captain. “It is indeed a delicate balancing act — particularly because, first and foremost, a forward is expected to score goals. If he isn’t doing that, it becomes difficult for him to have the credibility to tell his teammates what they should be doing. But being a leader means understanding that not everything hinges solely on your own performance.”

Kane arrives at the tournament in the United States, Mexico and Canada in the form of his career, having scored 61 goals for Bayern Munich this season — a personal record that places him in company he once considered unreachable. “Once you cross that 60-goal threshold, you find yourself in a stratosphere that, until recently, had only been inhabited by Messi — 73 goals in 2011–12 — and Cristiano Ronaldo, 61 in 2014–15,” he said. “Back then, their statistics truly seemed out of reach to me.”

Kane attributed the tally to consistency rather than any single purple patch. “If I crossed the 60-goal mark this season, it’s simply because — unlike in previous years — I didn’t experience any dips in form.”

Alongside World Cup ambitions, Kane indicated he believes his season merits recognition at the Ballon d’Or, and that breaking further records at the tournament itself remains a significant personal motivator as he looks to write his name alongside football’s all-time greats.