Reuters
England's struggling striker Harry Kane insists he has no fitness problems despite a difficult start to the Euro 2020 campaign in which manager Gareth Southgate has twice taken off his talisman when he has shown signs of flagging.
The England captain was replaced by Marcus Rashford in Friday's goalless Group D draw against Scotland at Wembley because Southgate wanted more energy in attack but Kane has assured fans he is not suffering from any injury.
"Gareth is within his rights to make the changes he thinks are best for the team," Kane, who managed only 19 touches in the Scotland game, was quoted as saying by The Guardian.
“What we’ve learned over past tournaments is about trying to peak at the right time. The best time to be peaking is in the knockout stages and hopefully kick on from there.”
England have had a muted start to the Euros after scraping a 1-0 win in their opener over Croatia, who beat England in the 2018 World Cup semi-finals in Russia, and failing to break down a dogged Scotland side in front of the home fans at Wembley.
“Maybe in Russia there were times, towards the quarter- and semi-final, when I wasn’t as sharp as I wanted to be,” the 27-year-old Kane added.
"In the end we didn’t get to where we wanted to go, maybe partly for that reason."
"It’s about managing the squad, making sure everyone is feeling as fit and sharp as possible. In my case, it was a tough couple of games (Croatia and Scotland) and it’s about making sure I’m right for the rest of them.
"I didn’t have any issues. I didn’t feel physically I wasn’t up to it. I felt going into those games as good as I’ve felt all season, if I’m honest."
