'England's equivalent of an ill-fitting square peg in a round hole'
[Getty Images] Thomas Tuchel and his England team had a taste of what life would be like without Harry Kane as they slumped to a deserved defeat by Japan at Wembley on Tuesday. Without the Bayern Munich striker, England lacked punch, creativity and cutting edge. Even Tuchel appears to be struggling to find a solution should Kane be unavailable during the World Cup.
Quite simply, it is not even worth contemplating from a Three Lions viewpoint. England's threat, without Kane, falls off a cliff. This is surely not news to Tuchel, but he will have everything crossed that the 32-year-old is fit and well in June.
Alternatives have had try-outs during this camp, but recognised number nines in Dominic Solanke and Dominic Calvert-Lewin did not make their case strongly enough. And the experiment of using Manchester City's Phil Foden as a false nine looked exactly that against Japan, Tuchel perhaps recognising it was not delivering desired results as it was abandoned inside an hour when he sent on an orthodox striker in Solanke. Foden was tireless, but this was England's equivalent of an ill-fitting square peg in a round hole.
It was a desperate measure, through no fault of Foden's, that should now be forgotten.