LONDON — There is a credible debate over whether England can win the World Cup. harry kane. Tuesday’s 1-0 defeat at home to Japan strongly suggests that without him, they have no chance.
Kane’s absence from the starting lineup was the result of a minor injury sustained in England’s final training session yesterday. The 32-year-old’s fitness record is generally excellent, but a situation could still arise which would see England miss seven matches in this summer’s tournament.
Before Monday’s session began, manager Thomas Tuchel addressed the media and was asked whether he had a clear idea of what to do if Kane was not available, after experimenting with dominic solanke And Dominic Calvert-Lewin During Friday’s 1-1 draw against Uruguay.
He paused, laughed, and said: “Good question… You’ve already seen my answer that I’m probably nowhere close to. I have some ideas, but I won’t make them public.”
England’s performance against Japan was equally inconsistent. Instead of continuing with Solanke or Calvert-Lewin, he chose to play Phil Foden as a false nine cole palmer working in a central post and morgan rogers pushed to the right with Anthony Gordon In narrow shape on the other.
Palmer’s most memorable contribution was giving the ball away for the match-winning goal, a clever move that began and ended koru mitoma Japan became the first Asian nation to defeat England.
Foden’s confidence and form continued to decline markedly. England had 19 shots, but none of them came from Foden, who was replaced on the hour mark after just 22 touches. England goalkeeper Jordan Pickford Registered 39.
Tuchel’s reshuffle has left no stone unturned in shaking England from their slumber. Solanke leads the line, Rodgers moves to number 10 jarrod bowen To play on the right side. marcus rashford There was a slight improvement when Gordon was introduced with 19 minutes left, but England’s late rally, a generous term for the little pressure they applied, came through a set-piece. Harry Maguire And dan byrne Created problems.
Japan’s failure to clean up one such corner gave Lewis Hall chance to test zion suzukiBut the visiting team goalkeeper made a clever save on his right side.
He had one of England’s four shots on target that night. ben white He was criticized before kickoff and the entire team was criticized by people on the field throughout. Most of the crowd of 79,233 had left long before the end to go home.
Any side will miss Kane. He is arguably the best striker in world football at present – 53 goals in 45 games for Bayern Munich and England this season – and as captain, his presence off the field is just as important in setting the standards England are hoping to reach.
Since the start of the 2018 World Cup – where Kane won the Golden Boot – England have a 65% win record in the 88 matches they have started. Without him that figure has dropped from 14 to 57%, but his absence is felt far more than those raw figures suggest.
“In the absence of Harry Kane, we are not as much of a threat,” Tuchel said. “Bayern Munich are not that much of a threat in the absence of Harry Kane. No team in the world has that much of a threat, it’s absolutely normal.”
“If top teams and countries rely on top players, it is absolutely normal. Also, Harry dropped out, so we not only lost him as a player but also as a personality. It is always a bit disruptive if the captain leaves the last training after 15 minutes and is out of the team.
“We can win games without Harry, we will win games without Harry, we have won without Harry, but it is easier to win games with Harry.”
And yet, the need for a viable alternative is not just because of injury. Kane has often had to work hard as England reach the Euro 2024 finals and the extreme heat conditions expected in the United States this summer will likely place greater emphasis on team depth and rotation.
ollie watkins Having been left out of this squad, Tuchel has enough knowledge of what the Aston Villa forward can offer him. Solanke, Calvert-Lewin and Foden all failed to take advantage of their opportunities during this international break.
So, Watkins certainly has a strong case to make the final 26-man squad, although there is clamor in some circles for Brighton’s experienced forward. danny welbeck If he continues to perform well in the Premier League, he could make a move – the 35-year-old is the Englishman’s top-scorer in the division.
Undoubtedly, Tuchel was right to use him here. The spectacle presented may have been disappointing, but the bigger picture is more important. However, there are flaws in that bigger picture, not least England’s record against elite teams, which has long been a cause for concern, even reaching the finals of the last two European Championships.
England qualified for the World Cup with an impeccable qualifying campaign, winning all eight games without conceding a goal. But they have now played three top 20 ranked nations under Tuchel: Senegal, Uruguay and Japan. Their record is one draw and two losses.
Those results can be explained by experiment. Jude Bellingham, Declan Rice And bukayo saka Everyone will come back. But the purpose of that experiment is to find solutions and it appears Tuchel is no closer to knowing how to cope without Kane as the World Cup appears ever closer on the horizon.
