2026 World Cup: England coach, Thomas Tuchel hits back at Harry Kane criticism

England coach, Thomas Tuchel, has refuted the notion that the team is overly dependent on Harry Kane following a disappointing goalless draw against Ghana in Boston during the World Cup.

The Three Lions experienced a reality check after their thrilling 4-2 victory over Croatia in the opening match, as they were held to a draw in their second encounter.

Despite dominating possession and creating several scoring opportunities, Tuchel’s squad could not break the stalemate.

They came close to scoring towards the end, with Bukayo Saka forcing a clever save from Benjamin Asare, Nico O’Reilly striking the crossbar with a header, and Kane sending the rebound into the stands.

With the captain failing to score, Tuchel was questioned about whether his team relies too heavily on the Bayern Munich star for goals, but he dismissed this suggestion.

The German coach emphasized that, although Kane netted twice, Jude Bellingham and Marcus Rashford also contributed goals in the previous match.

“Do Argentina rely too heavily on Lionel Messi, and France on Kylian Mbappe? That’s what it is – it’s world-class players who normally do what they do,” said Tuchel after the game.

“We had three different goalscorers in the first match, to rely on Harry is a natural thing because he loves the responsibility and takes it.

“He was not involved as much as we’d like to but that was not his fault. Our two central defenders were responsible for the build-up and it was eight against 10 then.

“The little moments he had were unlucky, and the last one was a clear goal. We rely on Harry because we can, he’s our forward, but we don’t over-rely on him.”