England's manager says there will be someone else, but it will not be a copy of Kane, and the search may last another decade.
Thomas Tuchel does not think England will ever find another Harry Kane, and he did not soften it.
The England manager admitted this week there is no obvious successor to his 33-year-old captain. "You will not get another Harry Kane, first of all," he said. "He is the highest level of goalscorer. He is a complete package."
Kane underlined the point on Tuesday, scoring a record-extending 87th England goal in a 2-0 Nations League win over Czechia that leaves him 13 short of a century. Only Cristiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi and Ali Daei have passed 100 in the men's international game, and Tuchel says his captain can join them inside 13 more matches.
"He is closing in. He scored again. 13 goals left," he said. "Thirteen matches."
The harder part is what comes after. Kane is in the form of his life, with 73 goals for Bayern Munich and England last season and a real shot at the Ballon d'Or, but the search for his understudy has dragged on for years. Ollie Watkins and Ivan Toney, both now in Saudi Arabia and in their thirties, filled that role at the past two tournaments and were left out of this batch of fixtures. Dominic Calvert-Lewin, approaching 30, is in the squad, and Liam Delap is the only English centre-forward under 27 to have scored a Champions League goal.
"There will be someone else, but it will not be Harry or a copy of Harry. We will find a solution when it comes to it but maybe not me. It might be another 10 years," Tuchel said.
For now, the answer looks like Jude Bellingham. Tuchel ended Tuesday's game with the Real Madrid midfielder pushed up as a number nine after Kane came off, and he liked what he saw.
"I like him as a nine," Tuchel said. "He is a natural goalscorer and he has the hunger to be on the scoreboard."
Kane is closing on another record too. He is due to win his 124th cap against Croatia this weekend, and he is now two appearances away from equalling Peter Shilton's England record of 125 appearances.
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