In the FIFA Days friendly gathering in March, the England team had very poor results. They were held to a 1-1 draw by Uruguay, then suffered a painful 0-1 defeat to Japan right at Wembley Stadium. In these two matches, the "Three Lions" did not have the service of key striker Harry Kane. As a result, they only scored 1 goal by defender Ben White.
In 2 matches of the FIFA Days in March, Thomas Tuchel tested many different attacking options when Harry Kane was not available. However, all of these options were ineffective.
In the match against Uruguay, Tuchel tried to maintain a simple playing style. He used Dominic Solanke as a traditional "number 9" striker. Later, he was replaced by Dominic Calvert-Lewin, who missed a good header.
Then in the match against Japan, Tuchel continued to experiment. Instead of playing with a traditional "number 9" striker, he chose a more complex system, leading to the "Three Lions" not having a true center forward.
Phil Foden plays as a false striker, often retreating alongside "number 10" Cole Palmer, with Anthony Gordon and Morgan Rogers on both wings. It seems that this is a smart way to overwhelm Japan in midfield, causing the opponent's defense to move in disarray, thereby having more opportunities to attack the space behind the defense.
The intention is good, but the reality on the field is a disaster. England has too many attacking players, so many that they often appear confused, not knowing how to move in each attack. In the end, Tuchel realized that the only thing needed to stabilize everything was the appearance of Harry Kane. Kane's problem is not only a player who knows how to score goals, he is also the one who regulates the playing pace of the satellites around him.
The feeling of lifelessness of the England team without Kane is not new. The confrontation with Japan is reminiscent of the 1-2 defeat to Greece at home in October 2024 when Lee Carsley was still interim, just before Tuchel was announced as the replacement for Gareth Southgate.
That day, Kane did not play due to injury. Lee Carsley tried to choose a bold squad, with many of the best possible factors, with Jude Bellingham as a striker, along with Foden, Palmer, Gordon and Saka.
That result was a mess. England was torn apart in every line and luckily only lost 1-2. The players had difficulty without Kane on the field to lean on, just like the way they lost to Japan.
When explaining the reason for not choosing Kane during the FIFA Days in March, Tuchel did not say it exactly in the style that he wanted to create opportunities for Foden, Rogers or Palmer. Everyone understands that this is the crucial stage of the season for Bayern Munich. For the England team itself, if Kane unfortunately gets injured at this time, they may lose their biggest star in the 2026 World Cup journey.
Not only Harry Kane, many other players with creativity in the England national team's attack are also absent from this FIFA Days such as Eberechi Eze, Bukayo Saka and Noni Madueke. Tuchel understands that the World Cup is important, but if the England national team still maintains such a poor friendlies record in June, the pressure on them at the official festival will be enormous.
Kane is very important, but looking back at the recent journeys of the England team in major tournaments, this striker does not always play well. The question is that without Kane, the England team would be very miserable, but if they had this striker, their journey would not have been really brighter, except for EURO 2020 reaching the final. Unfortunately, in that last match, Kane did not play impressively either.
Therefore, at the 2026 World Cup, Tuchel is forced to have a backup plan for Kane. Solanke and Watkins may not be as classy as Kane, but in a specific match, they are not incompetent players, they can still create highlights in a certain moment.
