Kane says England put club issues aside after Spain defeat

Harry Kane said England had kept club matters separate from international duty after their 3-2 defeat by Spain at Wembley prompted questions about the impact of Manchester City's financial-rules case. BBC Sport reported that the England captain acknowledged the subject had been discussed but played down suggestions it explained mistakes in Saturday's match.

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England manager Thomas Tuchel said the issue had not distracted him, although he could imagine City's players talking about it. Kane, speaking to ITV Sport, said the squad's approach to setting club football aside had not changed that week. Their comments followed a match in which errors by Marc Guehi and Nico O'Reilly helped Spain score, while former City midfielder Rodri conceded a penalty.

Guehi lost possession to Lamine Yamal near the edge of England's penalty area before the Spain winger scored his team's opening goal. In the second half, Rodri's late challenge on Jude Bellingham gave England a spot-kick. Kane slipped as he took it and struck the crossbar. O'Reilly later had a pass intercepted in his own half in the move that produced Alex Baena's equaliser at 2-2.

Three City players started for England: Guehi, O'Reilly and Elliot Anderson. Rodri, who joined Barcelona in the summer after seven years at City, started for Spain. ITV pundit Roy Keane suggested the news had affected players linked to the club, but that was his assessment rather than an established explanation for the errors. Kane's account did not support treating the club case as the cause of England's defeat.

BBC Sport reported on Friday that sources said City had been found guilty of breaking the majority of the 115 financial rules they were accused of breaching. The case concerns alleged conduct between 2009 and 2018, including inflated sponsorship income and payments outside the club's accounts. Sanctions had not been announced, leaving the sporting and financial consequences unresolved at the time of the report.

City chairman Khaldoon Al Mubarak maintained before Saturday's kick-off that the club could prove its innocence and that the Premier League process was not finished. Rodri had also expressed support for City's position at a news conference on Friday. BBC Sport noted that Guehi, O'Reilly and Rodri all made their City debuts after the period covered by the allegations.