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Harry Kane addressed questions over his stuttering form in Thursday’s press conference ahead of England’s Wembley date with Albania on Friday.

Captain Kane will lead the line against the Group I opponents as the Three Lions look to seal their place at the World Cup in Qatar. Albania sit in third place and still retain hope of a place at the finals in December 2022. The Spurs man, who expects a “tough game”, sat alongside Gareth Southgate and was probed about his form for Tottenham.

After coming so close to glory in the summer, Kane has scored just one Premier League goal so far this season. But he says he’s not worried about his current form and answered questions about pressure.

Kane told a press conference: “From my point of view, it’s easy for people to make an excuse when you’re not on form or scoring as many as you usually do and that’s where it’s important for my own self-belief, for my own mentality, just to work harder.

“That’s always been my approach, whether I’m doing really well or the goals don’t quite come in – is to work hard and train hard for the team and that’s what I’ve done my whole career.

“In this calendar year, it’s been a great year for me personally and I hope to continue that tomorrow night.

“I think it’s a game that we definitely want to win. We need four points from these two qualifiers so the quicker you can get three on the board, the better.

“A win would put us in a better position for the San Marino one.

“We expect a really tough game. Albania still have the chance to qualify for the World Cup and we know they’ll bring a lot of energy and passion to the game so we need to make sure we match that.

“We feel with our ability, we have more than enough to win the game but it will be a tough battle.”

Southgate confirmed Jack Grealish will be fit.

The England manager said Manchester City’s Grealish had been struggling with illness but was ready to play his part.

He told a press conference: “Jack’s had some illness and has missed some training so, he’s trained this morning with the rest of the group. Again, we’ve had a few medical issues this week – I’m just trying to remember who’s had what – but he’s available for the game and he’s ready if required.”

On Mason Mount and Luke Shaw, he added: “I’ve got to check in with our medical staff for today’s update.

“Obviously, the longer that goes, the less likely it is (Mount and Shaw could be involved against San Marino). It’s different situations really. Mason’s got to recover from this dental surgery.

“With Luke, there’s very strict guidelines on concussion markers and I know, the early part of the week the first day he didn’t pass the marker so that got shifted back and rightly, we’re going to follow the guidelines on that but we might run out of time. We’ll just have to see.”

Southgate was confident preparations have gone well, despite being without some key players.

Forward Marcus Rashford and midfielder James Ward-Prowse did not report for England duty and Declan Rice (illness) withdrew from the squad earlier this week.

While Arsenal’s Emile Smith Rowe received his first call-up to England’s senior squad on Monday.

Southgate said: “Training’s been very good. We’ve obviously had quite a few players withdrawing from the squad. But we’re used to dealing with that.

“It’s never straightforward and we’ve just got on with it. I don’t think anybody here would have felt there’s anything unusual about the way that we’ve prepared.

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Smith Rowe’s ‘quality has been apparent’

“We’ve been really happy with the level of training and the attitude of the players and we’re looking forward to the game tomorrow.”

Smith Rowe, 21, had been scheduled to meet up with England Under-21s but instead joined Southgate’s senior squad ahead of the Albania match.Southgate believes the Arsenal man is ready to make the step up with England.He added: “We brought him here to be involved with the team with the view to being involved in the team matches.“He’s settled really well. I think he obviously knows a couple of his club team-mates. Phil (Foden) from when he was in the Under-17s as well.

“This is a group that makes new players and young players really welcome so I don’t think it’s a difficult environment to fit in.

“His quality has been apparent, in the way that he’s trained so he’s ready and we’ve enjoyed having him with us this week already.”

READ MORE: England Under-21 boss Lee Carsley says Arsenal striker ‘needs testing’

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