England: Thomas Tuchel seeks to identify Plan B for World Cup with Harry Kane injured | OneFootball

Absence of record scorer gives Three Lions boss a chance to experiment up front in Wales friendly

Harry Kane has added to his record England tally in all but one of Thomas Tuchel’s six matches in charge, and that may be reason enough why his absence from Thursday’s friendly against Wales is no bad thing.

Kane was the top scorer at the 2018 World Cup in Russia and repeated that trick as the joint-top scorer at Euro 2024, even while clearly unfit and being replaced late on in games to preserve his health.

He has 74 international goals, 21 more than the player (Wayne Rooney) whose record number of strikes for England he eclipsed just two-and-a-half years ago.

And yet it was a challenge throughout Gareth Southgate’s eight years in charge and remains so today for England to find goals from elsewhere. When Kane is not scoring, not playing, who else will make up the numbers?

The absences of Cole Palmer and Jude Bellingham from this month’s squad compound that issue, and make for an interesting experiment when Craig Bellamy’s Wales face England at a sold-out Wembley.

A kick to the ankle in Bayern Munich’s 3-0 win over Eintracht Frankfurt at the weekend - when Kane, naturally, found the net - has left him unable to kick a ball without pain, according to Tuchel.

Harry Kane was injured playing for Bayern Munich last weekend

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The England boss says he is “convinced” that his captain will be back for Tuesday’s World Cup qualifier in Latvia, but he will not feature against Wales. Time for others to step up, for another man to lead the line.

Aston Villa’s Ollie Watkins is the only other recognised striker in the squad, and Tuchel has namechecked West Ham winger Jarrod Bowen as a capable No9 understudy, but might this be a chance to try Marcus Rashford through the middle? His start to life at Barcelona has been very promising.

The burden will of course be shared, an added onus also on the three who play behind the striker. That could mean Tuchel turning to Bukayo Saka, Morgan Rogers and Anthony Gordon for goals.

But how Kane’s deputy fares will be a fascinating watch, and potentially a glimpse into how England would cope at next summer’s World Cup if, for whatever reason, their talisman were suddenly unavailable.

“Yes, of course,” Tuchel said of England’s reliance on Kane. “It's his job. He is extraordinary in what he is doing so why wouldn't we rely on him when he is on the pitch?

“Of course, we’ll try to find a way to win without him, 100 per cent. He is one of the very best No9s in the world.

Tuchel hopes Kane will be fit to face Latvia next week

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“He's in a flow and is scoring one or almost two per game. It will be a big miss. But we have to find ways and solutions and create chances and without Harry it will be a bit different. But it can be successful.”

With Dominic Solanke out injured and Ivan Toney playing in Saudi Arabia, England are short of alternatives up front. But Tuchel is not concerned.

“We have clear options like Marcus Rashford - and Ollie Watkins is the obvious one,” he said. “Marcus Rashford can play as a No9 and I think Jarrod Bowen can.

“And then we have ones with a bit more fantasy or creativity like a Phil Foden or Morgan Rogers, maybe even a Jude Bellingham could do it against a particular opponent. So we have a lot of options. We have [Liam] Delap who is injured.”

Tuchel made a point this month of once again leaving out Bellingham, Foden and others who were not involved in the last camp, including Jack Grealish and Adam Wharton.

Kane, Reece James, Noni Madueke and Tino Livramento, who all started in the 5-0 hammering of Serbia, are injured, so changes will be enforced at full-back and on the right wing, as well as up front.

But besides that, Tuchel is likely to keep the team looking as similar as possible to the one that clicked into top gear in Belgrade.