‘We rely on Harry Kane’ – Thomas Tuchel

‘We rely on Harry Kane’ – Thomas Tuchel England drew a blank against Ghana on Matchday 2 (0-0) of the FIFA World Cup 2026 but will secure top spot in Group L should they beat Panama on Saturday. Bayern Munich’s Harry Kane scored a brace against Croatia on the opening matchday, but struggled to impose himself on the game against a resilient Ghana, who are on level points with the Three Lions heading into the final round of fixtures. England’s leading goalscorer missed a golden opportunity in the second half when the ball fell to him from seven-yards out, but the 32-year-old blazed the ball over the bar. England’s Kane does, of course, have history against Panama. He scored a hat-trick as Gareth Southgate’s side brushed aside their North American opponents 6-1 in Group G of the 2018 World Cup. Backing his goal-getter to find the net, Thomas Tuchel praised the responsibility that Kane takes. “Everyone is pushing and I think we had three different goalscorers in the first match and to rely on Harry is just a natural thing because he loves responsibility and he takes it,” explained Tuchel. “We rely on Harry because we can, because he’s our forward, but we don’t over-rely on him.” GGFN | Daniel Pinder