Tuchel backs Kane for Ballon d'Or: England boss hails 'the full package' after 73-goal season | OneFootball

Thomas Tuchel has backed Harry Kane to win the Ballon d'Or next month, calling the England captain 'the full package' after a record-breaking 2025/26 season.

TheBayern Munich striker scored 73 goals for club and country during an outstanding individual campaign, winning the Bundesliga, German Cup and German Super Cup.

Kane also helped England to aWorld Cup semi-final before securing a bronze medal, the nation's best-ever finish on foreign soil.

Those performances have made Kane the bookmakers' favourite to become the first Englishman to win the Ballon d'Or since Michael Owen in 2001, with the ceremony set to take place in London on October 26.

Kane faces fierce competition for the award, in what looks like the most open Ballon d'Or race in years. Kylian Mbappe and Lamine Yamal have both argued their own cases, while 2024 winner Rodri and Paris Saint-Germain superstar Khvicha Kvaratskhelia are considered contenders.

Speaking toITV ahead of England's Nations League campaign, Tuchel gave Kane his full endorsement.

"Yeah. After this season, yeah. Seventy-plus goals, three titles with Bayern Munich, semi-finals at the World Cup and in the Champions League," Tuchel said.

"He's getting better and better. I think he added a level of physicality to his match.

"He's just so committed to high press and so committed to being involved in every part of the match. Be it in deep build-up, be it in finishing, be it in build-up play in the middle block, be it in defending. It's just the full package."

Kane is England's all-time top scorer and will equal Peter Shilton's men's team record of 125 appearances if he features in all four Nations League matches this camp.

Tuchel's side kick-off their campaign against Spain, who defeated England in the Euro 2024 final before winning this summer's World Cup.

Ahead of the game, Tuchel was asked about how long Kane can keep performing at an elite level. Kane will be 36 by the time the next World Cup rolls around, when the tournament will be co-hosted by world champions Spain, Portugal and Morocco. With the England captain in career-best form in his early thirties, Tuchel expressed no concerns about his striker's longevity.

"Yeah, no problem. Age is age. It doesn't matter. It's only about quality, and he has a long way to go [with his international career]," the England boss added.