Kane is key for England at World Cup
England have to go deep into the tournament if Kane wants to go close for the Ballon d'Or. Clearly, it wouldn't help him if England were to get knocked out early and one of the other big hitters, for example, Ousmane Dembélé, went on to score for France, take them all the way to the final, put in a huge performance, and win it.
But Kane is one of the favourites for a reason, and we're all hopeful that if England are going to go deep into the tournament, he will play a major part. I firmly believe he will.
Kane's ability to drop deep does give England an edge. Thomas has managed Harry before, so he knows how he operates, how he works, and how to get the best out of him.
I know it's maybe not fair or right to say all our chances hinge on him, but it's a major factor. If England are going to get deep into this competition, he's going to have to perform really well and score goals for us. That also means other players getting past him when he comes deep, because it's a huge part of his game that he needs people going beyond him.
That's one of the things we lacked two years ago, or that he lacked, as I'm not sure he was fully fit. We lacked that game knowledge where players weren't really going past him. If England are going to win this thing, or get to a final or semi-final, he'll have to play a big part, and other players will need to know how to play off him.
Tuchel already knows who's starting against Croatia
I'd be amazed if Tuchel didn't know his starting 11 by now. As a player, you're always wanting to impress whoever you're playing for, particularly for England, but the vast majority of the players will already know if they're in the starting 11 ahead of the two friendlies.
You're representing your country, so you always want to go out and play well. However, I wouldn't read too much, if anything, into these two friendlies against New Zealand and Costa Rica.
The manager won't want to show his hand in terms of what set pieces they've got, what the lineup is, or how they're going to play. I don't think it would be a huge surprise if the vast majority of players already knew his starting team for their first World Cup group match against Croatia.
I've already said what I think the 11 will be, and I don't think I'll be too far off.
There's no doubt about that the manager will want a big improvement on what he saw in the last two friendlies. He will want to go into the opening game against Croatia with a feel-good factor, and good results provide that.
It's not the be-all and end-all, though. The be-all and end-all is Croatia, Ghana, and Panama. Those are the three games that matter. But I totally understand that you'd want to go into the opening game with a good feeling behind you.
Tuchel must approach friendlies with caution
I played in friendlies prior to Euros and World Cups and, as much as you want to give everything, you're also wary that you need to be fit to start the tournament. An injury is the last thing you need for any player, let alone your big players, so the manager has to be mindful of that.
One thing we can guarantee is that the 11 starting on Saturday against New Zealand won't be the 11 that starts against Croatia, and vice versa for the ones finishing. I think it will be a mix-and-match for both friendlies, and we have to understand and appreciate that it is the right thing to do. As I said, Tuche; won't want to show too much of his hand in either friendly.
A lot of players tneed to be managed because of the conditions, the number of games, and the physicality. That all comes into the mix in the manager's thought process.
You also have to manage the specific situation on the pitch. You might not be able to take some of your big names off if the result is not going well for you. If the result is going well, then you can manage them.
But that's why teams have such big squads now. It's not just the 11 playing; it's the rest of the squad and all the staff that go with it. All these circumstances come into play, and you've got to manage them as you go along.
The reason we hired this manager is because we want him to win the World Cup. We want him to take us the extra step that eluded us in European Championship finals or World Cup semi-finals. That was a big reason for bringing this manager in, to get us over the line and win something.
He knows, and everyone else knows, that they'll be judged on whether they can win the tournament. It's going to be very difficult because of the talent other countries have, so every situation has to be carefully managed. But that's why you've got such a huge number of staff now, because everyone is going to play their part.
Gordon and Rashford saga is not ideal for England
Anthony Gordon joining Barcelona and potentially taking Marcus Rashford's spot is something Tuchel could have done without. The England manager will be saying to his player: "Okay, let's just for the sake of a month or five weeks all pull together." But you're going to get rivalry at clubs anyway. That's what used to happen in the nineties when I was there.
It happened to me in Euro 96 when I was joining Newcastle. But it's pretty simple to put it to the back of your mind because you're playing in the biggest tournament at the World Cup.
I didn't find it difficult at all to focus on England. It was pretty standard to say: "This is what I'm doing for the next month, and whatever happens after that can sort of take care of itself." That's the mindset the players will have, and for me, I don't think that's difficult, no.
Morocco are my World Cup dark horses
For a leftfield shout, one of my teams to go far at this World Cup is Morocco. The first game I'm doing is Brazil vs Morocco as a co-commentator. They couldn't have got a tougher start against Brazil, but the two games after that are very winnable against Haiti and Scotland.
So if there is going to be a dark horse it might be Morocco. But I do think come the latter stages, it will be the usual big hitters: France, Spain, Portugal, Brazil and Argentina competing to win it.