Rooney issues ‘fatigue’ warning to Tuchel over one England star after Panama victory | OneFootball

Former England international Wayne Rooney thinks Thomas Tuchel needs to preserve Harry Kane by taking him off towards the end of matches they are winning.

The Three Lions struggled to break down Panama in a tricky fixture against a physical opponent with Tuchel’s side going into the half-time break goalless.

England did eventually break the deadlock on 62 minutes when Jude Bellingham flicked the ball into the net from a corner before Harry Kane doubled their lead five minutes later with a header.

That victory saw England top the group with DR Congo, who finished third in Group K, their next opponent in the Round of 32 at the World Cup.

Kane’s goal against Panama saw him move past Gary Lineker to become England’s all-time leading World Cup goalscorer but Rooney is worried that the Bayern Munich star could face burnout later in the tournament, if the Three Lions keep progressing.

Rooney said on BBC One: “In previous tournaments with Harry Kane, I think he has looked a little bit tired towards the end of tournaments.

“He came off in the 84th minute, I think the minute he scored and England were 2-0 up and the game is done, get him off.

“Even if it is 20 minutes left, you know in the last 20 minutes of games, that is when you get fatigued and that is when it takes the most out of you.

“We’re in danger now of going into a World Cup where you have got Ronaldo, Messi, Mbappe, Harry Kane, Vini Jr, all trying to get the Golden Boot.

“We saw it with Southgate when he never took Kane off, I hope Tuchel learns from that and he gives him a rest when he can.”

Tuchel: ‘It was what we expected’

Reflecting on the performance and the result, England boss Tuchel said: “We did what was needed.

“It was what we expected – a tough match against a physical opponent. It was difficult to score – we were the only team to create this amount of chances and scored twice against them.

“We were very aggressive. We had to be very careful with the counter-attacks because they’re strong – we did well and deserved to win, but it was hard work.”

Tuchel added: “There’s more to build on.

“You have to get so many details right. It’s an aggressive approach that we take to defend one-on-one. If you’re close to the pitch, you see it.

“The tournament starts again now in the knockouts.

“Now we collect our strengths and we build on what we have. The team spirit, fighting spirit, the belief, and we will step up.

“The bigger the games get, the bigger we will get.”