Tuchel: Impossible to Find Another Harry Kane for England

Thomas Tuchel, manager of the England national team, has been blunt about the future of the Three Lions' attack: there will never be another Harry Kane. The Bayern Munich striker extended his own scoring record for the national team by netting his 87th goal against the Czech Republic on Tuesday, and he now sits just two appearances away from matching Peter Shilton's 125 caps, the most in England's history.

• Kane has scored 87 goals for England and is two caps away from Peter Shilton's record of 125.
• Tuchel believes nobody can replace the English captain and sees no natural successor in the squad.
• Jude Bellingham was deployed as a centre forward in Prague after replacing Kane.
• Usual backup strikers Ollie Watkins and Ivan Toney are in their thirties and were left out of the squad.
• Liam Delap is the only English centre forward under 27 with a Champions League goal.

Kane, Two Games Away from Making England History

The England captain keeps breaking barriers in a national shirt. His goal against the Czech Republic in the Nations League took his tally to 87, a figure no other player has reached with the Three Lions. On top of that, the 33-year-old striker has the all-time appearances record within reach: with 123 matches played, he needs two more to equal Peter Shilton and three to overtake him.

Last season he recorded 73 goals for club and country, numbers that put him firmly in the conversation for the Ballon d'Or. However, his age forces the English federation to plan for a successor, a task Tuchel considers particularly difficult.

Why Tuchel Believes There Will Be No Another Harry Kane

The German coach does not limit his assessment to Kane's scoring ability. For Tuchel, what makes the Bayern Munich forward unique is his mentality and his capacity to lift the entire group, something that goes far beyond goals.

You will not get another Harry Kane, first of all. He is the first one to push everyone and that is his mindset. He became a very, very hardworking forward on top of his finishing skills. He is a complete package.

Tuchel insists England will look for different alternatives when the captain eventually steps aside, although he warns that finding an identical replacement is impossible. "There will be someone else, but it will not be Harry or a copy of Harry. We will find a solution when it comes to it but maybe not me. It might be another ten years," he explained.

England's Long-Standing Problem with the Backup Number Nine

Finding a reliable understudy for Kane has been on the agenda of the England setup for years. At the last two major tournaments, Ollie Watkins and Ivan Toney played that role, but both are now in their thirties and were not included in the squad for the current round of Nations League fixtures.

Dominic Calvert-Lewin is part of the current group, though he is also approaching his 30th birthday. The landscape reveals a sobering statistic: Liam Delap, the Ipswich Town forward, is currently the only English centre forward under the age of 27 to have scored a Champions League goal. The youth ranks do not offer an immediate successor.

Bellingham as an Alternative Striker for Tuchel

Faced with a shortage of pure number nines, the England boss tried a different tactical solution in Prague. After replacing Kane, he positioned Real Madrid midfielder Jude Bellingham as the attacking reference in a more advanced role than usual.

I like him as a nine. Then he can contribute to both sides and overload the sides and doesn't affect so much of the balance. He is a natural goalscorer and has the hunger to be on the scoreboard. It makes not a huge difference if he plays as a nine or a ten.

Tuchel also detailed that in the last game he found a new role for Bellingham as a central attacking midfielder, with a shape closer to a 4-2-3-1 than a 4-3-3. The aim is to bring the Madrid star and Kane closer together so both can create overloads on the flanks without unsettling the team's balance.

Frequently Asked Questions About England's Attack