False nines or firing forwards - England's potential life after Kane

What the report says

BBC Sport Football examined England’s longer-term attacking options after captain Harry Kane declined to say whether he expects to play at the 2030 World Cup. The question followed England’s 2-1 World Cup semi-final defeat by Argentina in Atlanta, with BBC noting Kane will be close to 37 by the next tournament and may have played his final World Cup match, apart from the third-place game against France in Miami.

The report underlines how heavily England still depend on Kane. BBC says the Bayern Munich striker has 85 goals in 124 England appearances, captained the side for nine years, and was used for almost every minute of England’s seven matches in North America. His deputies saw little action: Ollie Watkins played six minutes, while Ivan Toney appeared only briefly in stoppage time against Argentina. BBC suggests that could reflect Thomas Tuchel’s limited trust in alternative centre-forwards or in a different system.

BBC identifies a shortage of obvious successors. Watkins and Toney are both 30, while Dominic Solanke and Dominic Calvert-Lewin are also in their late 20s. Liam Delap, 23, is highlighted as a possible future option, though BBC reports his first Chelsea league season produced only one goal after a £30m move from Ipswich. The article also points to academy and youth names such as Shim Mheuka, Will Lankshear, Caelan Cadamarteri, Teddie Lamb, JJ Gabriel and Divin Mubama, while cautioning that youth scoring records often do not translate into senior international careers.

If no orthodox striker emerges, BBC says England may have to consider a “false nine” approach. Tuchel tried Phil Foden there in a friendly against Uruguay, without convincing results, while Anthony Gordon is presented as another potential candidate because of prior experience in the role.