Kane ´surprised´ by Tuchel´s England appointment

Harry Kane said he was “surprised” when he heard that Thomas Tuchel had been appointed as Gareth Southgate’s replacement as the permanent England boss.

Tuchel took over on January 1 and signed an 18-month contract with England to lead them through the 2026 World Cup in the United States, Canada and Mexico, with this his first job at international level.

The German, who is England’s third foreign manager, had been out of football since leaving Bayern Munich at the end of the 2023-24 season, when he worked with Kane.

And, asked if he had expected to be reunited with his former manager, the England captain acknowledged he had not, but is relishing the chance to work with him once more.

“I was surprised if I’m honest,” Kane said. “Yeah, I didn’t expect it. I guess I just wasn’t really thinking of him as a national team coach.

“But yeah, once it was announced, I was really excited because, obviously, I had the pleasure of working with him last year and I know what he can bring. I knew what he could bring to this type of squad that we have.

“And obviously we’ve only been together a few days, but it hasn’t disappointed. He’s bringing us up to what I thought he would.

“And I think camp after camp, as he settles in, as we get to know him more, I think we’ll improve as we go. But ultimately, it is about building up until next year and these are important camps to do that.”

Kane scored 44 goals under Tuchel in all competitions last season, with 36 of those coming in the Bundesliga.

He finished just five adrift of Robert Lewandowski’s single-season goal record of 41, set in 2019-20, after missing the last game of the season through injury.

Kane also registered 56 goal involvements for Bayern in his debut season, at least 21 more than Florian Wirtz, who managed 37 for Bayer Leverkusen in all competitions.

“Tuchel did [get the best out of me] last season, there’s no real rules to how I play – he sees me as the number nine, the guy to be in the box and score him the goals,” Kane added.

“But there was times in the build-up where I was the guy linking up the play, maybe getting us out of a high-pressure situation.

“If I did get on the ball, he spoke a lot about having runners for me, the wingers and a No. 10 if I did drop.

“This week, he wants a lot of the ball in the opposition half, a lot of counter-pressing, and me being the one in the box and scoring the chances.

“He’s spoken a lot already about getting balls into the box as quickly as we can. Last season, I had a really good season with him. This squad’s very different to that, of course, but I’m excited to start this England chapter with him.”