Unfortunately, there will be no Harry Kane reunion when Tottenham Hotspur and Bayern Munich meet this weekend in Seoul, South Korea. Kane is still away on holiday, after having captained England to a runner-up finish in the Euros. These two clubs will meet again though, one week later, in another friendly, this time at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, so that is when we should see the Harry Kane lovefest in full effect.
Kane is just one of many player absentees for this exhibition match, so let’s get going on covering them all.
Hybrid Friendlies FYIs
Bayern Munich vs Tottenham Hotspur
Kickoff: Saturday Aug 3, 12pm BST, Seoul World Cup Stadium, South, South Korea
Tottenham Hotspur Preview Content: Team News Starting XI Prediction
Bayern Munich Preview Content: Team News Starting XI Prediction
Buy the book: Transatlantic Passage: How the English Premier League Redefined Soccer in America
Team News for Both Sides
In staying with Bayern, Matthijs de Ligt is on post Euro holiday, having served with The Netherlands who made a very deep run in the tournament. He’s been incessantly linked with a move to Manchester United this summer, so we’ll see if he makes the switch or not.
Now that United’s newest signing at the position, Leny Yoro, is out for a significant time due to injury, Old Trafford might push harder to get this deal over the line.
Elsewhere Leroy Sane, new signing Michael Olise, Dayot Upamecano and Alphonso Davies will all miss out as well, due to either injuries or getting rest and relaxation after international duty.
Shifting gears to Tottenham, Ashley Phillips suffered a training ground injury, so we don’t know if he’ll be available or not. Same goes for Oliver Skipp, who suffered a knock in the high-scoring win over the K-League All-Star team yesterday. Destiny Udogie is still recovering from the operation to repair his quadriceps injury while no one really knows what is going on with Richarlison.
He’s been M.I.A. this tour and strongly linked with a move away this summer. There is high interest from Saudi Arabia, but reporting suggests that’s not going to happen.
Meanwhile the quartet of Micky van de Ven, Rodrigo Bentancur, Giovani Lo Celso and Cristian Romero are still on post international duty holiday.
Paul M. Banks is the Founding Editor of The Sports Bank. He’s also the author of “Transatlantic Passage: How the English Premier League Redefined Soccer in America,” and “No, I Can’t Get You Free Tickets: Lessons Learned From a Life in the Sports Media Industry.”
He currently contributes to USA Today’s NFL Wires Network. His past bylines include the New York Daily News, Sports Illustrated and the Chicago Tribune. His work has been featured in numerous outlets, including the Wall Street Journal, Forbes, the Washington Post and ESPN. You can follow him on Linked In and Twitter.