Harry Kane has made it very clear he "doesn't like" England players pulling out of international duty when it isn't entirely necessary. And his previous comments are as important as ever after Gabby Agbonlahor suggested that deserting players "should be banned."

Thomas Tuchel's side host Japan in a friendly on Tuesday, having drawn 1-1 with Uruguay only four days earlier. The manager's squad has been decimated after eight players withdrew from camp to return to their respective clubs, three of whom represent Premier League leaders Arsenal.

Former Tottenham captain Kane addressed player commitment in November 2024, when caretaker coach Lee Carsley had his selection rocked by eight withdrawals prior to a UEFA Nations League clash with Greece.

"I think England comes before anything," Kane told ITV at the time, when asked about what it means to represent the Three Lions. "It comes before club, and it is the most important thing you play as a professional footballer.

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"Gareth [Southgate] was hot on that, and he wasn't afraid to make decisions if that started to drift from certain players. It's a shame this week, obviously. Yeah, I think it's a tough period of the season and maybe that's been taken advantage of a little bit.

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"I don't really like it if I'm totally honest. I think as I just said there England comes before anything, any club situation. The joy to play for England.

"I think Gareth brought that back. Every camp, people were excited to come, every camp people wanted to play for England and, yeah, that's the most important thing."

Noni Madueke's withdrawal from England camp wasn't seen as suspicious, given the Arsenal winger appeared to suffer a genuine injury against Uruguay. However, Declan Rice and Bukayo Saka's exits have been criticised by some fans, given neither player featured in that game.

There's no way of knowing just how severe any injuries or knocks the players might have picked up truly are. However, ex-Aston Villa frontman Agbonlahor didn't pull any punches when questioning the legitimacy of their absences after 10 Arsenal players from different national teams similarly pulled out of international camps this week.

Speaking on talkSPORT, he said: "If I was part of the Premier League and I was making a decision, I would bring in a new rule, you miss the next Premier League game available if you pull out of international duty.

"I tell you something, players will stop pulling out. Playing for your country is an honour. If I'm Harry Kane, I'm speaking about this and saying, 'Come on, guys, let's not go back to what we were doing four or five years ago, where players are pulling out non-stop.'

"I get it, Arteta is doing everything possible to win these trophies. Their next game after the international break is the FA Cup [quarter-final] against Southampton. I'm just not keen on players pulling out of international duty. It's an honour to play for your country. It doesn't sit right with me."

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