Soccer analysis: Can Thomas Tuchel’s England win FIFA World Cup 2026 without Harry Kane?

It was a disappointing international window for Thomas Tuchel and his England side after the Three Lions suffered a 1-0 loss to Japan on Tuesday.

That defeat followed a 1-1 draw with Uruguay and further exposed some blatant cracks.

In particular, in the absence of Harry Kane, there is no real focal point to the team going forward.

Kane had picked up a minor injury during training despite the 32-year-old’s fitness record being pretty much flawless, and the ensuing struggles don’t bode well for the upcoming World Cup.

Here, Sports News Blitz writer Matthew Morgan examines the potential weaknesses this England squad may have to face.

Poor showing against Japan

Tuchel opted for a more unorthodox option as a replacement for the England captain, deploying Phil Foden in a false nine role, with Cole Palmer and Morgan Rogers dropping deeper to support.

Foden failed to deliver one shot before being substituted, carrying on his underwhelming run of form at Manchester City.

Palmer’s only notable contribution was getting caught in possession, leading to Japan’s winning goal by Kaoru Mitoma, which marked Japan as the first Asian country to ever beat England.

During the game, Tuchel tried implementing fresh legs up top to regain a bit of a spark, introducing Jarrod Bowen on the right, alongside Marcus Rashford and Anthony Gordon.

They offered a small step in the right direction, but most of the goal threat came from Dan Burn and Harry Maguire, who dominated aerially from set pieces.

Back-up players fail audition

England’s attacking system has been built around Kane’s ability to score and assist goals.

He is known for his passing prowess, being able to drop deep and provide pin-point passes while still remaining a consistent goal threat.

This is key to Tuchel’s strategy and without him, England looked disjointed, with notably less fluidity when taking the ball further up the pitch.

This leaves England in a predicament.

Other alternatives like Dominic Solanke and Dominic Calvert-Lewin were both given opportunities to prove themselves during the friendly against Uruguay, but neither offered a clinical edge.

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Tuchel laments Kane absence

“Today, we played with Phil Foden and later with Dom Solanke. But I’m not looking for a second Harry Kane. There is no second Harry Kane,” Tuchel explained after the match.

“Harry dropped out, so we lost not only him as a player, we lost him as a personality.

“It’s always a bit disrupting if the captain leaves the last training session after 15 minutes and is out of the squad.

“We can win games without Harry, we will win without Harry, we have won without Harry. It’s easier to win matches with Harry.”

England need solutions fast

The expected return of key players will significantly soften the blow of Kane’s absence.

Jude Bellingham, Declan Rice, and Bukayo Saka will help drive the transition of play into the final third as they are creative attacking players, but even with the extra reinforcements, the lack of a proven central striker remains a huge concern.

England won all eight of their qualifying games without conceding a single goal, scoring 20 in the process.

However, since then, they have faced three top-20 international teams in Senegal, Uruguay, and Japan and were unable to get a win to show for it.

This underlines the magnitude of Harry Kane’s importance, even when he’s not playing.

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