England interim head coach Lee Carsley made the surprising decision to name Harry Kane as a substitute on Thursday evening for England’s Nations League game against Greece. Ollie Watkins — selected in place of the England captain — opened the scoring before being replaced by Kane midway through the second half of the 3-0 win.
Carsley insisted Kane had not been taken out of the starting XI because of his performances. “I definitely didn’t drop Harry Kane,” he told ITV. “He’s done well every game he’s played and been involved with. It wasn’t a case of being dropped, far from it, it was just a case of giving someone else an opportunity.” Multiple sources familiar with the situation, and granted anonymity to protect relationships, have told The Athletic that Kane was unhappy with the decision.
GO DEEPER
Lee Carsley risked it all by omitting Harry Kane – and England reaped the dividends
Whether Kane was dropped, rested, rotated or just the victim of some interim coach experimentation, it did momentarily raise the prospect of England’s future without their record goalscorer. Kane will surely play a major part for Thomas Tuchel’s side over the next 18 months but, in a sport that waits for no man or woman, is the Bayern Munich player still England’s best centre-forward option?
The Athletic’s Oliver Kay, Carl Anka, Jack Pitt-Brooke and Thom Harris offer their thoughts.
‘You don’t want to end up in the situation Portugal have reached with Cristiano Ronaldo’
It’s not about being England’s record goalscorer. It’s about being the most reliable goalscorer now — and Kane still is. Yes, he struggled at Euro 2024, but so did other England players. He has scored 61 goals in 61 appearances for Bayern Munich. He would still be scoring freely in the Premier League if he was still at Tottenham Hotspur.
That doesn’t mean he should be considered untouchable. You don’t want to end up in the situation Portugal have reached with Cristiano Ronaldo where a change of approach is needed and a coach feels he can’t make it.
England are not in that position with Kane. Gareth Southgate showed at the Euros that you can keep faith in a player while still being open-minded enough to substitute him if it’s not working out.
Kane is still scoring at a phenomenal rate for club and country (Josep Lago/AFP via Getty Images)
I was surprised by Carsley’s team selection against Greece, particularly given Kane was one of the few senior players who had reported for duty — but Watkins came in and scored, so the decision paid off. That doesn’t mean Kane is finished. It just underlines that England have an alternative.
Watkins has been to Kane with England what Jhon Duran is to Watkins at Aston Villa. I like Unai Emery’s approach at Villa: Watkins for 60 or 70 minutes and Duran for the closing stages. It’s similar to Southgate’s attitude at the Euros and I suspect Thomas Tuchel will do something similar with Kane and Watkins for England. It should be a fluid situation.
Oliver Kay
What if England’s best striker is… Jude Bellingham?
Here’s a hot take: England and Real Madrid would be better if they used Bellingham as their No 9.
The 21-year-old has ways of finding space inside the penalty area that surpass many genuine centre-forwards. His pace, formidable strength and fondness for a third-man run help, but there are a few things that could turn Bellingham into a threat up front.
Bellingham was the driving force behind England’s second goal on Thursday (Justin Setterfield/Getty Images)
Key to this all is Bellingham’s elite spatial awareness. Watch him for long enough and you’ll notice Bellingham is fond of double or triple movements when making runs towards the box to find free space. He knows how to curve his run at the right angle and, more importantly, at the right speed to ensure he stays in the blind spots of defenders. (This is something his Real Madrid team-mate Kylian Mbappe is still trying to master when playing as a centre-forward.)
Bellingham’s near-post runs are a throwback to the strikers of the 1990s and his willingness to scrap with defenders and use his body to shield the ball make him a good outlet.
Is it counter-intuitive to move one of the world’s best midfielders into a position where he touches the ball less? Given his array of attacking skills, and the variety of midfield options England have, it seems worth a trial.
Carl Anka
For all Watkins’ strengths, is Kane still the superior striker?
Kane is England’s greatest striker. He has scored 68 international goals and has been integral to the most consistent run of tournament performances in England’s history. Only a few bits of bad luck have denied him a trophy.
Under certain circumstances, Kane might not be the best fit for a particular game or moment. We all saw what happened at Euro 2024 — he never looked like he had recovered from the back injury he sustained at the end of the season. Southgate substituted him for Watkins three times in Germany and England would surely have been better off in the final with their captain on the bench.
Watkins replaces Kane in the Euro 2024 final (Alex Grimm/Getty Images)
There will be moments when Watkins over Kane makes more sense. He can do things that Kane cannot. If England need to play on the break or attack the space behind the opposition defence, Watkins is far better at that. Kane is 31 and there is bound to be an increase in the number of games when he is not the right fit for the tactical plan.
But right now? Kane is averaging a goal every 85 minutes for Bayern Munich. Watkins, for all his specific strengths, does not have a body of work to compete.
Jack Pitt-Brooke
‘There’s still a real variety to Kane’s centre-forward play’
Kane isn’t just England’s best striker, he’s the best in the world. In 42 Bundesliga games, he has scored 47 goals — eight more than any other player in Europe’s ‘big five’ leagues since the start of last season — and that’s before we discuss his ability to drop into midfield and link play.
Ignoring penalty kicks, we can see just how clinical Kane has been in Germany from his shot map (below), scoring seven goals more than the quality of chances suggests the average player would have scored. There is still a real variety to his centre-forward play — he is more than happy to strike from distance on either foot, but also follows that poacher’s instinct, with 11 goals from inside the six-yard box.
All that said, I can’t buy into the outrage surrounding his benching on Thursday. Watkins has more than earned his chance for minutes and brings a more fixed central presence. He occupies central defenders differently.
England have two of the most prolific strikers in European football. If one of those can’t get some precious minutes in a Nations League game — with international friendlies fewer and further between than ever — then when can he?
Thom Harris
(Top photo: Justin Setterfield/Getty Images)
