Thomas Tuchel has revealed that Jude Bellingham is emerging as a potential alternative to Harry Kane in England's attack, as the head coach continues to weigh up his options up front. The admission comes despite Kane extending his extraordinary scoring streak for the Three Lions during Tuesday's 2-0 Nations League victory over Czechia in Prague, where he netted late to bring his tally to 87 goals in 123 caps.
While there is no immediate need for England to plan for a future without Kane, Tuchel acknowledged the squad's lack of proven cover in the striking department. Ollie Watkins and Ivan Toney were both left out of the current squad, while Dominic Calvert-Lewin, who replaced Kane during England's loss to Spain at the weekend, has managed just four goals in 13 international appearances at the age of 29. Nottingham Forest's Liam Delap, 23, has yet to receive a senior call-up.
Against that backdrop, Bellingham's cameo as a makeshift centre-forward after replacing Kane late against Czechia caught Tuchel's eye. The Real Madrid midfielder, who wore the captain's armband after coming on, impressed enough for Tuchel to consider using him in a more advanced role going forward.
"You will not get another Harry Kane, first of all," Tuchel said. "We look for different solutions. We finished the game with Jude as a No 9. 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 10 years."
Tuchel elaborated on how Bellingham's versatility could reshape England's attacking setup. "I like him as a [No] 9," he explained. "Then he can contribute to both sides and overloads the sides and doesn't affect so much of the balance. We found a bit of a new role for him in the last match, as a central [No] 10, so he can go to both sides and it is more of a 4-2-3-1 than a 4-3-3 to have Harry and Jude closer together and to give them a chance to overload both sides."
The England boss added that Bellingham's natural instincts make him suited to either position. "We are working on that. Jude in general should always be able to go through the last line and be able to end up in the box. He is a natural goalscorer and has the hunger to be on the scoreboard. He wants to have the decisive action so it makes not a huge difference if he plays as a [No] 9 or a [No] 10."
Despite the tactical experimentation, Tuchel remains confident in Kane's continued excellence, predicting the striker could reach 100 international goals before long and praising his composure in front of goal against Czechia, who played the majority of the match with ten men after an early red card. Anthony Gordon had opened the scoring before Kane sealed the win. "The ball falls down and you see Harry taking the shot and that is exactly the player you want it to drop down to," Tuchel said. "He does it in every single match. The highest level of finishing."
Tuchel also touched on Kane's move to Bayern Munich, which he oversaw in 2023, after Bayern's honorary president Uli Hoeness recently called the striker the club's best-ever signing. "That is so beautiful as it tells me everyone can see his true value and his personality," Tuchel said.
The win moved England up to second in Nations League Group A3. Attention now turns to Saturday's away fixture against Croatia in Rijeka, where questions remain over whether Trent Alexander-Arnold, who set up Gordon's goal on his first England appearance since June 2025, will retain his place. Kane offered strong praise for the full-back's performance: "Trent's outstanding. The delivery, the passing range, the crossing but also today defensively he was outstanding. He's a fantastic player. Trent just has to keep his head down, keep working hard. He's been great in camp so far. He's showing to the boss that he wants to be here."
Based on reporting from The Guardian.