The Japan Times - Kane available to face Latvia as England aim to book World Cup place

England captain Kane missed the 3-0 friendly win over Wales on Thursday with an ankle problem sustained while playing for Bayern Munich recently.

But the Three Lions' record goalscorer, who has netted 74 times for his country, returned to training at the weekend and boss Thomas Tuchel expects Kane to start the qualifier in Riga.

"It's very easy with Harry, he can play, he is fit. We did the right thing. Top in training and ready to go," Tuchel told reporters on Monday.

"And I don't see why he should not be able to play 90 minutes. The pause was just a short pause for him. He played all matches before with Bayern, so I don't see any obstacles there."

Kane's return means Tuchel will have no reason to rue the injury to Aston Villa striker Ollie Watkins, who was forced to withdraw from the squad after colliding with a post while trying to score against Wales.

"Ollie left camp, unfortunately. It was too painful," Tuchel said.

"He could not train with us, so he is in treatment with his club and tries to get ready for the weekend. Everyone else is with us."

Group K leaders England can seal their World Cup berth with two games to spare if they beat Latvia.

They have won all five group matches without conceding a goal, giving them a four-point lead over second-placed Albania with a game in hand.

- 'Right direction' -

England beat Latvia 3-0 at Wembley in March in Tuchel's second game in charge.

But they have improved significantly since then, routing Serbia 5-0 in September before producing an impressive first half display to swat aside Wales.

Having been criticised following the slow start to his reign, Tuchel sees signs that England are developing into a cohesive unit capable of playing the attacking style he promised when he took over in January.

"I feel that we are building something, and we are going in the right direction. As always in sports, tomorrow is the most difficult game," he said.

"We have to show respect to our opponent, respect the circumstances. It's an away match in a World Cup qualifier, and, with the result from Albania and Serbia, we can qualify tomorrow. And we want to do it with a win with extra motivation."

Tuchel had made it his goal to create a club style atmosphere among his England squad, calling for a Premier League level of intensity in their performances.

England's last two matches have fulfilled the former Chelsea manager's wish and he expects them to continue in the same vein against Latvia.

"The spirit and the momentum is clearly there. The players are fully focused. They train with an awareness," he said.

"They train with joy. They train with a lot of quality. You can sense it. So everyone made an impact.

"The focus is on building a strong team, starting a strong team, starting also a team that is used to playing with each other."

S.Ogawa--JT