England: Keane hits out at ‘soft’ Three Lions star; backs Tuchel to snub Arsenal man for three reasons

Manchester United legend Roy Keane hit out at a “soft” England player as Thomas Tuchel’s side beat Albania 2-0 in their final World Cup qualifier.

The Three Lions were far from their best against Albania as some of their players underperformed, but they still maintained their perfect record in World Cup qualifying.

Bayern Munich standout Harry Kane netted a late brace to settle the match in England’s favour as Tuchel ‘s squad takes shape ahead of next summer’s World Cup .

Certain players already look to be guaranteed a place in the England starting XI for the tournament, with Declan Rice and Elliot Anderson frontrunners to be Tuchel’s two centre-midfielders.

Crystal Palace had a chance to impress Tuchel against Albania , but he struggled and Keane has explained why he was a “bit soft”>

“I do like Adam Wharton ,” Keane said on ITV.

“A lot of the modern midfielders, their first option seems to be ‘can I go sideways or backwards?’ What I like about him, the first option he seems to look at it is ‘can I pass it forward?’ and that’s a big strength to have.

“‘This is where he can mature over the next year or two if he’s playing at the top level, put demands onto people. He’s a bit soft there.

“Shout at players, go ‘give me the ball!’. That’s what I used to do, I used to fall out with people a lot. ‘Give me the ball!’ Put demands on your team-mates.

“He’s still new to it, so I’m not going to be too harsh on him. But as he matures and starts playing more games, put demands on your team-mates.”

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Despite this, Keane has argued that the Three Lions are “looking strong”, with Tuchel backed to snub Arsenal star Myles Lewis-Skelly due to his lack of game time, while Nico O’Reilly has got “into very good habits” and has “clicked” with Marcus Rashford .

“It’s a strong looking [England] team [for the World Cup],” Keane added.

“There’s probably a few positions up for grabs. I still think [it should be] Rashford and O’Reilly, but people can build up relationships.

‘”We saw that the other night and that can happen over the next few months.

“Lewis-Skelly, I still think he is a good player [for England] if he can get back into the first-team at Arsenal . Really good options.

“[O’Reilly] is playing for a brilliant team at Man City under a brilliant coach so he’s got into very good habits.

“Sometimes players just click together. There’s nice chemistry between them (O’Reilly and Rashford). There’s a nice energy.”