The Toffees frontman says he is doing everything he can to be ready should he get the nod to start at Wembley on Tuesday
Dominic Calvert-Lewin has given his “100 per cent” backing to England captain Harry Kane, but insists he is ready to start against Germany on Tuesday if called upon.
Kane is usually seen as one of the first names on the England team sheet, but has seen his position come under scrutiny after failing to score or even make a significant impact in any of England’s three group games at Euro 2020.
Calvert-Lewin is one of a number of alternative attacking options available to Gareth Southgate if he decides to make a change – and the Everton striker is keeping himself in peak condition in case he does.
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What did Calvert-Lewin say?
When asked about Southgate’s potential starting XI for the Germany game, Calvert-Lewin said: “I’m not going to talk about who is and isn’t going to play, for me it’s about being ready when I’m needed and staying sharp in training if I’m called upon.
“Harry is the captain, at the moment he is the man that is leading the line and I’ll support him 100 per cent and make sure I’m ready when needed.
“I think coming into the tournament I was aware of the role that I was going to play and I prepared myself for that and all I can do is to play that role to the best of my ability.
“I’m a player like anyone else who wants to play and get minutes and affect games and sometimes when you can’t do that it does get frustrating, but I think that’s only human.”
Calvert-Lewin “not concerned” by previous Germany defeats
Calvert-Lewin also played down the significance of previous games against Germany, most notably the famous penalty shootout defeats at Italia 90 and Euro 96, pointing out a lot of the squad were not even born when those games took place.
The 24-year-old was a schoolboy when England were thrashed 4-1 by Germany at the 2010 World Cup, but he insists that too will have no bearing on Tuesday’s last-16 tie.
“I suppose there’s big history with England and Germany playing against each other so maybe it’s that which people think [about], but we’re not too concerned about that, it’s another game of football which we are going to try and win,” he added.
“That [the 2010 World Cup defeat] is more in my memory, but for me it’s perhaps not as personal.
“For me I’m just looking forward to the test and we can try and make history.”
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