Blame Antonio Conte if England flop at the World Cup

Paul Macdonald

• Updated: 23 May 2023 08:55 CDT
• 4 min read

England’s World Cup chances could live or die based on the decision-making of a coach - and it’s not Gareth Southgate.

Because Antonio Conte has driven Harry Kane into the ground this season and his continued presence in the Tottenham team is a disaster for Southgate.

Spurs, one of the richest clubs in Britain, have appeared incapable of acquiring any kind of cover for the perma-tired forward, whose form in Qatar will more than likely define how deep into the tournament England will go.

What is England's World Cup squad?

How much has Kane played?

Barring a 78th minute substitution against Fulham at the beginning of September, he has played every other minute of Premier League football this season. He’s played all 540 minutes of Champions League action, with Spurs required to score in injury time of the final match to clinch qualification. He was even rolled out for 59 baffling minutes in the league cup defeat to Nottingham Forest last midweek.

Of the Premier League forwards, only Ivan Toney has played marginally more league minutes than Kane this season, indicative of Tottenham’s utter reliance on him and lack of other options, but also the last thing England need to hear because they are equally reliant on him.

It’s notable that in the conversations over Southgate’s 26-man squad, the forward situation was one of the least discussed; it’s thoroughly expected that Kane will play every damn minute, and the additional forwards, such as Callum Wilson, are there to be thrown on if chasing a game, or - God forbid - Kane gets injured during the tournament itself.

World Cup 2022 top scorers

In fairness to Conte, he had made no issue about the fact that he doesn’t care. Kane is his player, Tottenham’s player, then, at the bottom of the list, England’s player. It makes zero difference to him how he chooses to use his forward; they pay his salary, he is theirs to do with as they wish.

But it’s hard to imagine a scenario where an English manager would run a particular player on such a consistent schedule. Across Europe this weekend there’s multiple examples of Qatar-bound talents being left on the substitutes bench or, in other cases, out altogether.

Condensed season

This is the most brutal schedule players have ever faced. This is the culmination of the COVID-19 year, the condensed season after that, straight into Euro 2020 pushed back a year, and now into nearly a half-season squeezed into three months. This isn’t just a Conte problem, it’s a calendar problem.

And yet you look at England, and think that there’s only one player who absolutely HAS to be at his peak for England to succeed, and that’s Kane. If we look at Euro 2020, how he had to build fitness into that tournament - he will not have that luxury this time.

And as other team-mates struggle for form, he’s the only one who has maintained something like a level of consistency.

England NEED Kane. And Kane didn’t need a lot of these games. If he turns up at the tournament and appears like he’s played too much, it’s because he has. But don’t blame Southgate - blame Antonio Conte.