Tuchel backs Jude Bellingham as England No 9 alternative after Kane strikes in Prague
Thomas Tuchel has identified Jude Bellingham as a striking alternative for England as the head coach weighs up his options behind Harry Kane.
Kane continued his remarkable scoring record in the 2-0 win against Czechia in the Nations League on Tuesday, moving to 87 goals in 123 international appearances with a late strike in Prague. But with little cover up front, Tuchel has been forced to consider who could lead the line in his absence — however distant that prospect may be.
There is no immediate concern over Kane's place. The England head coach backed the 33-year-old to last another decade at the highest level and tipped him to reach a century of international goals soon, while insisting England cannot expect to produce a replica of their greatest forward.
A new role for Bellingham
Concern instead centres on depth in attack. Ollie Watkins and Ivan Toney have been overlooked for this camp, while Dominic Calvert-Lewin — who came on for Kane in the defeat by Spain on Saturday — is 29 and has four goals in 13 caps. Liam Delap, the 23-year-old forward, is yet to earn a senior call-up.
It was notable that Bellingham led the line after coming on for Kane in the closing stages against Czechia, and the midfielder wore the captain's armband after his introduction.
"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."
"I like him as a [No] 9," Tuchel added. "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.
"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."
England climb the group
England moved second in Nations League Group A3 after seeing off Czechia, who were reduced to 10 men midway through the first half. Anthony Gordon opened the scoring before Kane finished well late on.
"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."
The Germany coach was the manager who took Kane to Bayern Munich in 2023, and he reflected warmly on the striker's impact in Bavaria after Uli Hoeness, Bayern's honorary president, called him the club's greatest signing.
"That is so beautiful as it tells me everyone can see his true value and his personality," Tuchel said. "It is not easy to change and to come to Bayern Munich when you win, win, win and it is a big club. You are under the spotlight and he won everyone over."
Alexander-Arnold's return
England's next assignment is a trip to Rijeka to face Croatia on Saturday, and it remains to be seen whether Tuchel sticks with Trent Alexander-Arnold after the right-back marked his first international appearance since June 2025 by creating Gordon's goal.
"Trent's outstanding," Kane said. "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."