Gareth Southgate admits that it would be a ‘brave decision’ not to start Harry Kane against USA

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Harry Kane and Harry Maguire are fit and eager to go for England’s crucial World Cup clash against the USA… as Gareth Southgate admits it would be a ‘brave decision’ to leave the duo out

Harry Kane and Harry Maguire are fit and eager to go for England’s crucial World Cup match against the USA tonight after recovering from injury and illness.

The duo have given a big boost to manager Gareth Southgate, who insisted yesterday that the pair will be available.

England captain Kane went for a scan after suffering a blow to the ankle against Iran on Monday, but was allowed to resume training on Wednesday.

Gareth Southgate says it would be a 'brave decision' not to start Harry Kane against USA

Gareth Southgate says it would be a ‘brave decision’ not to start Harry Kane against USA

Southgate suggested that Kane will start after passing practice without any problems

Southgate suggested that Kane will start after passing practice without any problems

Southgate said: ‘Harry is good, he came through training without any problems – it would be a brave decision to leave him out of the starting team. He’s in a good room. Surely.

“We got him under control a little bit last week with training because of the strain he’s been under, so we’re always aware of that. Some players need a bit more training, some might do half a session, it depends on what their individual load has been.

“Some have not played much football and sometimes need to be pushed a bit more, so we always prepare individually.”

Maguire is also set to start in an unchanged squad tonight after recovering from an illness that saw him substituted against Iran.

There was concern that the defender suffered a concussion, but a thorough examination by English medics and FIFA – who analyzed numerous camera angles – ensured he had not suffered a blow to the head.

Kane was seen running around with his teammates and passing the ball without any issues

Kane was seen running around with his teammates and passing the ball without any issues

The images will be reassuring to England fans after Kane's fitness was in doubt

The images will be reassuring to England fans after Kane’s fitness was in doubt

“We think part of that was dehydration,” Southgate said. “Because of concussion awareness, we all checked that very diligently and so did FIFA, because it’s one of the most important things about their medical department in this tournament. There’s no evidence for that, but you’ll want to check anyway, because he felt unwell and why?’

James Maddison again did not train with the rest of the team.

Southgate also confirmed that the FA has been in contact with FIFA regarding their concerns over VAR in the 6-2 win over Iran.

There were concerns about Kane after he suffered a blow to the ankle in the game against Iran

There were concerns about Kane after he suffered a blow to the ankle in the game against Iran

Southgate expects a very different test against the United States than against Iran

Southgate expects a very different test against the United States than against Iran

Maguire was denied a penalty after being rugby tackled by Rouzbeh Cheshmi in the first half, but Iran later got one via VAR after John Stones was caught lightly tugging on striker Morteza Pouraliganji’s shirt.

The England camp were angry at the decision not to award a penalty for the Maguire incident – particularly after an incident in the penalty area involving Kalvin Phillips from England’s 5-0 win over Albania last November was used as an example of foul play in a video shown to officials for the World Cup. This had led to fears that England would be unfairly targeted by referees in Qatar.

The FA has submitted a report to FIFA and is awaiting their response.

Stones said: ‘We were in a referee meeting before the tournament saying certain things and my frustration is when those aren’t backed up. That’s hard because we try to adapt our game to the way they want things ref. I understand that they have a super difficult job these days with all those cameras, but there needs to be a bit of clarity.’