Mauricio Pochettino has offered huge news on Harry Kane’s involvement in the Champions League final.
Tottenham Hotspur will take on Liverpool in the Champions League final at Wanda Metropolitano today. Both sides have worked their socks off to reach this stage as they went to script their history in the previous rounds. There are very fewer injury concerns going into this game for Mauricio Pochettino and Jurgen Klopp.
Spurs talisman Harry Kane has not featured since April 9, but he has taken part in the training over last few days. He has been nursing an ankle injury and there were several doubts over his involvement, but Pochettino has said that he is yet to pick his eleven for the grand finale.
If Harry Kane is preferred up front, one of Heung Min Son or Lucas Moura, who scored the iconic hat-trick will be ejected from the eleven.
“We have one training session now and then we’re going to decide [the team],” said Pochettino.
“We have all the information, we know every single detail [about the players’ conditions] and we’re going to take the best decision to win. It’s so painful when this type of game arrives and you can only use 11 players form the beginning. That’s the most painful situation.”
Harry Winks is another player in doubt, but he has trained like Harry Kane over the last few days.
Pochettino confirmed that Uefa had agreed that both clubs could include all 23 players in the pre-match photo, rather than the usual 11, and called on his players to play with freedom tomorrow night.
“Tomorrow, the most important thing is to be ready,” he said. “Under stress, you act on autopilot. When there’s one billion watching you, that stress is more than ever.
“They need to play with freedom, like how you play when you’re a child, seven or eight. The key is not to think about all those watching you but to all work together.
“Liverpool’s a great team with a lot of quality, they’ll be ready to fight but I hope Tottenham will be the best.
“We started to prepare for the final after Everton, not after Ajax as we wanted to make sure we finished in the top four,” the Argentine added.
Here’s how Twitter has reacted..
Mauricio Pochettino has refused to be drawn on the likelihood of Harry Kane starting the Champions League Final but said he is facing a ‘painful decision’ on Saturday.
“We have one training session now and then we’re going to decide [the team].”https://t.co/FHp7idqtHd
— Anfield HQ (@AnfieldHQ) May 31, 2019
Will Harry Kane start tonight’s #UCLfinal?
Here’s what Mauricio Pochettino said in his press conference 👇https://t.co/SxyeRYuBgl
— Goal News (@GoalNews) June 1, 2019
🗣 Mauricio Pochettino on whether Harry Kane will start:
“We have one training session now and then we’re going to decide.”#UCLfinal pic.twitter.com/aZY6QdFSL8
— Goal (@goal) May 31, 2019
Tottenham vs Liverpool: Mauricio Pochettino remains tight-lipped on whether Harry Kane will start Champions – https://t.co/ix9yEgk2Aa pic.twitter.com/6YHQ0PLpAL
— usa news (@USA_DAILY_NEWS) June 1, 2019
What’s next?
It will be an interesting clash as both Liverpool and Tottenham Hotspur aim to end their trophy droughts.