Harry Kane best in the world and England missed him – Harry Maguire

With England already assured of their place at Euro 2024, Kane was only named among the substitutes for the 1-1 draw away to North Macedonia in the final qualifier of Group C.

It was the first time the talismanic striker has not started a competitive game for England in over two years and he was involved in the equaliser just seconds after replacing Ollie Watkins in Skopje.

Kane, who hit nine goals in nine England appearances in 2023, sits atop the all-time charts with an unrivalled 62 goals from 89 caps.

"For me, he's the best striker in the world," Maguire said of his international skipper.

"When he's not on the pitch, we miss him. He's our captain, he's our leader and he has been since I've been here.

"He's an important player of course, he's our goalscorer. I've always said about Harry that he's one of the best strikers in the world and he's proved it now for eight or 10 years.

"Now he's gone to Bayern and is doing what he does – scoring goals, he's a magnificent person, a big leader as well.

"Is he appreciated enough? He's appreciated by all the lads and the coaching staff and that's what matters.

"He's a nightmare to play against in training and can put the ball in the back of the net from any angle. His movement is very good, he's a focal point in the team, and when he came on for us he was a threat and on another night if the ball drops then we win the game."

Kane could yet cause Maguire and his United team-mates heartache next month when Bayern visit Old Trafford in the Champions League.

He has hit 17 Bundesliga goals in his first 11 games and has four in four in the Champions League – with Bayern top of Group A, nine points clear of United who are bottom and need results away to Fenerbahce and then at home to the 2020 winners.

Maguire said: "He played really well when we played them at their place and if we're going to beat them at Old Trafford then keeping him quiet is an important job to do."

Maguire's performances for club and country have steadily improved since he was booed by some England fans and lost the United captaincy.

The 30-year-old, though, insists he is "really appreciated" in the footballing world as he aims to add to his 62 England caps.

The latest of those came in Monday's draw in Skopje, where Maguire and his team-mates were left battered and bruised by the terrible playing surface.

"The game was what it was, we controlled the game from start to finish, had all the ball, gave them a couple of counter-attacks on a really, really bad pitch, I must say," he added.

"Where do I start? I've not played on a pitch as bad as that for a while. It was basically sand, my foot kept getting stuck, you saw in the first half, I made a challenge after my foot got stuck in the ground.

"We don't want to make excuses, we're all international players and people will say we should be able to play on anything. But it was tough and I'm happy that the lads came away with no injuries, that's the main thing coming off that pitch."

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