
We got away with it – Harry Kane admits England lacked quality in Andorra win
England captain Harry Kane admits Thomas Tuchel's side 'got away with it' having put in a sloppy display in Saturday's drab encounter with minnows Andorra.
After starting World Cup qualification, and the German's reign, with Wembley wins against Albania and Latvia, things fell flat against the 173rd-best team in the world in Barcelona.
England were booed by many of the 6,950 travelling fans after a scoreless first half against Andorra, with further jeers greeting the final whistle after Tuchel's men failed to kick on from Kane's 50th-minute goal.
The candid head coach felt the Euro 2024 runners-up 'played with fire' due to their lack of 'seriousness and urgency', with the skipper sharing similar sentiments.
'It wasn't our greatest performance,' Kane said. 'I don't think it's one many people are going to remember, that's for sure, but it's three points in the bag.
'But, yeah, for sure we know we can play better in all aspects, both with and without the ball.
'It's down to us now to go analyse it, look back and try and learn from it because condition-wise it's going to be very similar to next summer – dry pitch, warm weather, humid.
'We were just lacking quality, looked a bit fatigued both physically and mentally and, yeah, we got away with it because we're a good team and they had a couple of half-chances there where we didn't get punished. But ultimately, it wasn't good enough.'
Kane has scored in all three matches under Tuchel, his former manager at Bayern Munich, with the latest effort extending England's all-time top scorer's record goal haul to 72.
Noni Madueke capped a man-of-the-match display by providing the cross for the winner and the captain felt this kind of match cried out for the directness of a talent like the Chelsea winger.
'He was really good today,' Kane said as attention turns to Tuesday's friendly against Senegal. 'I think in these type of games, you need players like Noni who are good one-v-one to sometimes make a difference.
'It's a dry pitch, not easy to move the ball quickly, so sometimes you rely on individual quality and I thought he was probably our best outlet today.
'The goal itself was probably our best move of the game in terms of how we wanted to play, more in terms of Curt (Jones) getting on it and playing the forward pass to me, and then obviously the rebound and back across.
'It was probably our best move and we just didn't have enough of that, both with probably the runs and also the quality – a lot of balls kind of overhit, out of play, and it just kind of killed our momentum, especially there in the second half.'
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


The Sun
40 minutes ago
- The Sun
Leicester and England wonderkid Jeremy Monga, 15, snubs Man City interest to stay at King Power Stadium
LEICESTER CITY have signed 15-year-old starlet Jeremy Monga on a bumper new contract in a major coup for the Championship club. The news will come as a blow to Manchester City and a string of other Premier League and top continental clubs who were desperate to snap up the teenage prodigy. 1 The winger became the second youngest player ever to appear in the Premier League earlier this season when he came on as a substitute against Newcastle. And he went on to make seven Premier League appearances for Ruud van Nistelrooy 's relegated Foxes. That sparked interest from Euro giants Real Madrid, Barcelona and Bayern Munich as well as interest closer to home, led by Man City. Foxes fans feared Monga would be snapped up before he fulfilled his potential at the King Power. City could have swooped before he was old enough to sign his first professional contract aged 17 and Leicester would only have received a nominal fee as compensation for developing the young talent. However that would have been worth a fraction of the kid's true value. Now Leicester have protected their investment by convincing the 15-year-old winger to sign a new scholarship contract with a professional clause that kicks in when he reaches his 17th birthday in July next year. Monga, who joined Leicester's Academy as a nine-year-old, will now begin his Academy scholarship this summer with his first pro contract kicking in by the summer of 2026. Despite being just 15 years old, Monga has already featured for the Foxes first team during the 2024/25 season. It means the teenager will be around next season to try and help Leicester return to the Premier League at the first attempt and comes as a huge boost to the relegated Foxes. £67M Real Madrid Star Rodrygo on Gunners Hit List | From The Sports Desk | Sun Sport Leicester are also on the brink of signing fellow teenager Jake Evans on a similar deal. 'It's important to have these players for the future for a longer time. I think he will be very good for the club,' said Van Nistelrooy at the end of last season. Polish goalkeeper Jakub Stolarczyk has seen his contract extended by the Club to 2027 after an impressive campaign that saw the 24-year-old Academy graduate collect 10 Premier League appearances. In total Leicester signed up nine Academy graduates as they prepare for life back in the Championship. But Monga's deal is by far the most significant as it keeps him out of the clutches of Europe's leading clubs. Following a 16-minute debut off the bench against Newcastle in the Premier League, Monga went on to make a further six league appearances for the club under Van Nistelrooy. A club statement said: "Nine exciting young talents from our Academy will extend their stays with Leicester City after a combination of new contracts, extension options and scholarship agreements were confirmed... "Meanwhile, Jeremy Monga has committed to commencing his professional career as a Leicester City player, with an agreement now in place to secure the talented teenager's future at King Power Stadium. "Jeremy will begin his Academy scholarship this summer with his first professional contract scheduled to commence in summer 2026. "Our second-youngest appearance maker and the second-youngest player in Premier League history, having made the first of his seven Premier League appearances against Newcastle United in April, aged 15 years and 271 days, Jeremy is among an exciting group currently progressing on our Academy pathway, which he joined as an Under-9." The versatile winger has been captain of England 's Under-16s too and trained with City's U-21s squad as a result of his potential. But that only helped to catch the eye of some of Europe's top clubs, with City among those who were hoping to tie up a move this summer. Monga almost made history by becoming the youngest ever Premier League goalscorer against Nottingham Forest, only to be denied by Matz Sels. Van Nistelrooy was boisterous on his future and said at the time: "That would have been some story if Jeremy could have topped his exam week with a winner away at Forest. "If he stays here and this is his future we can build more minutes into his pathway. "I've had many conversations with him and his family. And so hopefully he can sign soon - it's up to him. "It's a joy to work with him and sometimes we speak about GCSEs and mathematics. I even have to help him with his studies sometimes! "But if he had scored the winner against Forest that would have been a real fairytale."


The Sun
40 minutes ago
- The Sun
Michael Owen reveals he didn't know what Ballon d'Or was when he won it and had to ask manager about it
MICHAEL OWEN has admitted he had no idea what the Ballon d'Or was - even after winning it. The former Liverpool striker won the prestigious gong in 2001, beating Real Madrid icon Raul into second place. 2 2 Owen played 297 times for the Reds over an eight-year stint, scoring 158 goals. He later moved to Real Madrid and Manchester United, as well as earning 89 caps for England. The 45-year-old's electric pace and lethal finishing made him one of the world's most feared strikers. Owen bagged 24 goals in 46 Premier League games in 2001, catching the eye of the Ballon d'Or panel. The award is handed out annually to Europe's best player. But after beating greats including David Beckham, Luis Figo and Thierry Henry to the award, Owen had absolutely no clue what it was. Owen told talkSPORT: "When Gerard Houllier phoned me and said 'You've won the Ballon d'Or', I'm like 'What's that gaffer'? "I didn't know what the award was. I never did because I never even knew what it was. "Back in those days it was never in our press." Owen was just the fourth English player to win the Ballon d'Or, following Stanley Matthews, Bobby Charlton and Kevin Keegan. But it wasn't until he became a Galactico with Madrid in 2004 that he truly understood its significance. Owen continued: "When I played for Real Madrid, it's like an MBE, it follows you. "Whenever they mention your name it's Ballon d'Or winner. "Abroad it is so big and it's only just cottoned on here for the last five or ten years. "It's so much bigger in other countries, in foreign countries. "It quickly sunk in how big it was."


Daily Mail
an hour ago
- Daily Mail
PSG hold further talks for Bournemouth star with the defender keen to join Champions League winners after breakout season
Paris Saint-Germain have held further talks over a move for Bournemouth centre back Ilya Zabarnyi. The Ukrainian, who is one of a number of Cherries stars to have had something of a breakthrough season under Andoni Iraola at the Vitality Stadium, is keen on the move. The South Coast outfit have already seen Dean Huijsen depart for £50million to Real Madrid, and Liverpool are in talks over a move for left back Milos Kerkez over a deal that could reach as much as £45m. To also lose Zabarnyi would leave Iraola with an almighty rebuild over the summer having put together a brilliant side based on defensive prowess that surged beyond the club's record Premier League finish and points tally. Only five teams in the top flight conceded fewer goals than Iraola's side last season, who finished ninth in the standings. Ukrainian defender Zabarnyi has caught the eye since joining the Cherries from Dynamo Kyiv in January 2023. The 22-year-old started all but three of Bournemouth's Premier League matches last season and he was suspended for two of those, as he soon become one of the most important players in the team. The Cherries have already enquired about a move for Bologna's Coppa Italia winning centre back Jhon Lucumi, with Huijsen already out the door and on the way to Madrid. The 26-year old has 28 caps for Colombia, but Bournemouth will face competition with Serie A giants Inter Milan also showing interest. In what is set to be a busy summer for them, Bournemouth have also asked about PSV forward Johan Bakayoko and are prepared to make an offer in the region of £20m to secure his services. The 22-year-old Belgium international has been tracked by a number of Premier League clubs and Bournemouth want to bolster their attacking options for manager Andoni Iraola. The Cherries are determined to strengthen despite their talented squad being targeted by elite European clubs. Bakayoko impressed against Liverpool in the Champions League this season and was the subject of a failed £17m bid from Burnley in 2023.