Why isn’t Harry Kane starting for England against France at the 2026 World Cup?
England face France in search of third place at the 2026 World Cup, where Harry Kane will surprisingly begin the match on the bench. England face France in the third-place match of the 2026 World Cup at Miami Stadium, and manager Thomas Tuchel has left Harry Kane out of his starting eleven for the occasion. In his place, Ivan Toney is set to lead the line, getting his first start of the tournament after spending the entire competition as a squad option behind Kane. The decision has nothing to do with fitness or form. Kane has been fully available and remains one of the tournament’s standout performers, but with the third-place match carrying little weight on the bigger picture, Tuchel has opted to give Toney a chance to get minutes on the sport’s biggest stage. It’s a low-risk call for Tuchel, who can afford to rotate now that England‘s title hopes have already ended, while still being able to bring Kane on later in the match if the situation calls for it. Harry Kane celebrates a goal for England. (Getty Images) Harry Kane’s outstanding World Cup Kane leaves this tournament having delivered one of the best individual campaigns of his career. The England captain started all six of his side’s matches, finishing with 6 goals and 1 assist, tied for third among the tournament’s top scorers. Along the way, he broke Gary Lineker’s long-standing record to become England’s all-time leading World Cup scorer, moved past Pele on the all-time World Cup goals list, and pulled level with France great Just Fontaine on 13 career World Cup goals. He also became just the sixth player in history to score five or more goals at two different World Cups, joining a list that includes Miroslav Klose, Thomas Muller, Lionel Messi, and Kylian Mbappe.
