Tuchel Just Proved What England Fans Fear Most About Life Without Kane
After Thomas Tuchel’s the England boss recent audacious choice, this decision demonstrates that he truly “needs to be nervous” and that he is aware that England will fail without Harry Kane.
This period of English history is sometimes referred to as the “Golden Generation” because the nation is endowed with an abundance of opportunities in particular fields.
This is especially true in midfield, where they have the good fortune to boast one of the world’s top forwards.
Even though we like to joke that he hasn’t actually scored any goals for England, Kane has elevated his club and national performances to incredible levels, and at 32, there isn’t much indication that he will start to decline anytime soon.
Kane should be at the top of his game for the World Cup next summer, and he might still be at that level for the 2028 European Championships, so this is good news for England in the short term.
But England will eventually face a serious problem since there aren’t many good candidates to succeed Kane in the long run.
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Although everyone connected to England had been contentedly ignoring what was to come as Kane continued to score at an incredible rate, this issue has finally come to light. This is hardly a groundbreaking revelation, since it has been known for a long.
Ollie Watkins of Aston Villa is the only striker who has recently been able to match Kane’s productivity, but the 29-year-old has had a harsh start to the 2025–26 season after missing out on a transfer to a Big Six team in the previous two windows.
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Watkins may have reached his peak in the last two seasons because of the perception that he lacked the end product needed to be considered a great striker. This season, he has had a very bad start.
Along with Dominic Calvert-Lewin, Eddie Nketiah, and Callum Wilson, the out-of-form Villa star is one of four English attackers in the Premier League—aside from Danny Welbeck—who have only managed one goal this season.
Liam Delap, a rookie for Chelsea, was goalless before to his injury. Watkins’ slump has also cost him a spot in the England team for the international break in November.
Tuchel’s audacious choice to forgo replacing Watkins with another natural No. 9 was another aspect of this.
Welbeck has six Premier League goals from 10 games and has generally been excellent for Brighton since the beginning of last season, so it is understandable that he would be upset not to be included.
However, the fact that Tuchel did not feel the need to add another genuine No. 9 to share the load with Kane speaks volumes about how little he values Welbeck, Watkins, and England’s other strikers.
“No one needs to be nervous,” Tuchel stated on Friday regarding Watkins’ exclusion. We have many talented strikers. One of them is Ollie.
It didn’t make sense to bring Ollie to camp in this state because we could see that he was playing through his discomfort.
“We decided to give him this break so he could receive treatment, return to full physical capacity and optimal condition, and then compete for the position once more in March.”
Tuchel has a “need to be nervous” as he fully commits to Kane being England’s main man up front, regardless of whether Watkins’ “discomfort” is a valid explanation or a cover-up for his omission due to poor form.
If you’re going to invest heavily in a striker, it might as well be someone as talented as Kane. However, Tuchel’s ambitions for next summer could be derailed by the Bayern Munich striker with just one of those annoying muscle problems.
Tuchel has made it clear that he does not believe any of his forward alternatives can adequately fill in if or when needed.
Furthermore, by refusing to give Kane a break during this break, Tuchel is inviting conflict by saying, “Not in November! He takes a winter vacation in Germany.
Given where he is in his career, taking that brief vacation is ideal for him. He has no justifications for the upcoming two games as a result.
