Tuchel: Kane hitting 'highest level'

Thomas Tuchel believes Harry Kane is reaching the “highest level” for England as the Three Lions captain closes in on Peter Shilton’s record of 125 caps.

Kane will match that incredible total if he plays against Czechia in the UEFA Nations League fixture at Wembley Stadium on Tuesday evening, having started and scored in each of England’s three games in the competition so far.

And after watching the Bayern Munich striker grab his 88th and 89th international goals in Saturday’s impressive 7-0 victory over Croatia, Tuchel admits he is running out of words to describe his in-form skipper.

Asked about Kane potentially matching Shilton's record this week, Tuchel told his pre-match press conference: “I'm not sure I have any more words.

"He's on the shortlist for the Ballon d'Or. We've spoken so often about him and I try to find new words which then make no sense!

"Everything he does, he does it on the highest level, he does it consecutively and I am very sure he will be the one leading the team out onto the training pitch, he will lead the team in the warm-up and not do one step less or one step slower. That is the level he has.

"Since he took this major role for Bayern Munich, he found a new level. It's the highest level, on and off the pitch." 

Kane made more history in Rijeka on Saturday evening, becoming the first England player to score 10+ goals in three different calendar years: 11 in 2026, 16 in 2021 and 12 in 2019.

He also became the first Three Lions players to score in six straight away games in 78 years, joining James Windridge Tom Finney and Stan Mortensen on an exclusive four-man list.

Speaking more on Kane, Tuchel added: “All these number nines in world football, no matter in which league, they are built a bit different.

"They don't only do it so their team wins, they also do it for themselves and for the records. How many can I score? How many can I assist? Where is the next record?

"That's what drives them and it's good that drives them. You will not find a striker of this calibre who does not have these individual goals."

Tuchel also discussed the quality of Saturday’s performance against Croatia - which saw Bukayo Saka (two), Anthony Gordon, Jude Bellingham and Morgan Rogers join Kane on the scoresheet - insisting it is now the “standard” for his side going forward.

"If a similar performance [to Croatia away] means 6-0 or 8-0 then we have the wrong expectations," Tuchel added. 

"We should not expect that result. But if it's a similar performance in terms of humbleness, attitude, intensity on and off the ball, then that's what we want. That's the standard.

"Czech Republic gave Spain a lot of headaches. We saw improvement in their team. We should not over-expect in terms of results and creating chances.

"The things we can influence we want to influence on the same level but it can look different.”

Speaking specifically on the challenge of facing Czechia, who the Three Lions defeated 2-0 in Prague last week, Tuchel said: "I will not openly talk about any weaknesses, we will always try to find gaps when we analyse opponents.

"We always try to find advantages for us but there is a lot of development in [the Czech Republic] squad, I feel them getting stronger and stronger, especially in build-up.

"Clear patterns of play, very flexible, very fluid."