Tuchel has a Plan B for Kane, and it's Bellingham

England beat Czechia 2-0 with Kane doing what Kane does: two goals, taking him to 87 in 123 caps for his country, a number that keeps climbing without much fuss attached to it. That should have been the headline. Instead, according to the Guardian, Tuchel used his press conference to say he likes Jude Bellingham as a No 9, opening up a conversation nobody was expecting on a night Kane scored twice.

Not a like-for-like swap

Bellingham is a midfielder by trade, 23 years old, with 53 caps and 10 goals for England and a season at Real Madrid this term that reads 38 appearances, 8 goals and 5 assists. He's not been asked to lead the line for his country before. Tuchel floating it as an option, rather than a plan, matters here: this reads like a manager keeping a door open rather than drawing up a formation change for a tournament.

The Guardian's report doesn't spell out exactly how Tuchel arrived at the idea, or whether Kane and Bellingham would ever actually share a forward line rather than one replacing the other. What is clear is that Tuchel is comfortable saying it out loud in the same week Kane delivered another international brace, which tells you the German isn't short on confidence in Kane's form. He's just thinking two steps ahead of it.

Depth planning or genuine competition

England have leaned on Kane as the answer for years, and 87 goals in 123 appearances is not a record you casually challenge. But squads get picked for tournaments, not single fixtures, and Tuchel has shown before that he'll use whoever is playing well wherever he needs them. Bellingham's numbers at club level, a goal every few games from midfield across his time at Real Madrid and Borussia Dortmund before that, suggest he's more than capable of finding the net from deeper positions. Whether that translates into a genuine No 9 audition for England, or just a manager keeping his options visible, is the part nobody can answer yet.

The Guardian's report also references Trent Alexander-Arnold in its framing of the game, though the specifics of his role on the night weren't detailed. For now, the takeaway is simpler: Kane remains first choice, undisputed and scoring for fun, while Tuchel quietly lines up an alternative he clearly rates more than most expected.