Harry Kane’s comments about England players withdrawing from the squad are old-fashioned and completely miss the point.

The Bayern Munich striker said he’s unhappy with the number of his international teammates who have decided to pull out from the latest England squad. “I think England comes before anything,” Kane said. “England is the most important thing you play as a professional footballer.

“I think it’s a tough period of the season, maybe that’s been taken advantage of a little bit. I don’t really like it if I’m being totally honest.”

Not only is this sentiment problematic for a player to express — especially about his own teammates — it also feeds into the narrative that elite footballers are selfish for putting themselves first in a sport that refuses to prioritise player welfare.

Nine players in total dropped out of the squad. Trent Alexander-Arnold only played 25 minutes of Liverpool’s 2-0 win against Aston Villa before succumbing to a hamstring injury. Declan Rice only mustered 71 minutes against Chelsea while already playing with a broken toe. Bukayo Saka went off injured in the same game. Cole Palmer was an injury doubt before his last Chelsea game. The list goes on.

It’s been announced there will only be two international breaks to close out the year after the 2026 World Cup. But when the game’s decision makers don’t accommodate for this increase in workload right now, it’s up to players to protect themselves. That doesn’t mean they don’t care about their country. It just means they care more about their welfare than anyone else seems to.

Whenever this club vs country tug of war exists with England, the discussion is almost always usurped by this obsession of “who loves their country more?“. There’s rarely ever any nuance or context provided.

The reality is, these players have been dealt a bad hand and are now being judged for taking control of their own workload. That isn't something they should be chastised for, especially from a teammate with shared lived experience.

@AhmedShooble

These are players who are clearly nursing their way back to full fitness in a game that’s always had an unhealthy obsession with playing through injuries. It’s one thing to believe England duty is the pinnacle of football. It’s another thing entirely to use that as a reason to encourage your teammates to be careless in recovery.

Playing for your country is the highest honour because you’ve been chosen as one of the best your nation has to offer. Why waste that opportunity if you’re not fully fit? Better yet, why take that spot away from someone else who is fully fit? This is exactly the kind of old fashioned sentiment where players are conditioned to ignore their bodies to serve their country — the armyfication of football.

Players and managers at the elite level are more vocal than ever about the fact there is too much football to contend with. Top teams are being asked to play more games in the Champions League and Europa League, and that’s without mentioning the expansion of the new Club World Cup next June.