Reports from Sky Sports suggest that England captain Harry Kane will be rested for their friendly against Switzerland at Leicester tomorrow. In his place, Eric Dier will captain England.
The last time Kane was rested for an England match was against Belgium at the World Cup. Since England were already in the knockout stages, Southgate wanted to rest Kane so that he was fit for the upcoming matches. Even then, Eric Dier donned the captain’s armband.
Gareth Southgate will repeatedly make nine changes in England’s squad when they face Switzerland. Southgate said, “Harry falls in the category in which we have several players where we have to watch how much they play. It was a short break with no pre-season and everybody was back earlier than I am sure everybody would have expected for club matches, although that is entirely understandable.
We talked a bit after the World Cup about the demands of the modern player. Everybody has got to play a part in that but the clubs own the player and they have got to do the right thing for themselves. Normally we have not got opposing objectives and the clubs would be holding their breath and hiding behind their sofas watching our teams go out.
But this is one of those occasions where what we want to look at with our squad ties in with doing the right thing with the players for our long-term benefit. So I thought this is a good opportunity to do it.”
Kane not playing in the Switzerland game will benefit Tottenham Hotspur more than anybody. The club’s talisman should have a rest long enough to keep him fresh as a daisy when Spurs face Liverpool on Saturday.
England will be hoping to put an end to their three-match losing streak against Switzerland tomorrow.
