This had been billed as Thomas Tuchel’s final tune-up of his top stars before World Cup selection. Instead, like against Uruguay, the test of Japan centred around an audition. Please welcome to the stage Phil Foden, playing the role of Harry Kane.
Going purely off his club form, struggling for minutes at Manchester City, there would usually be serious questions over whether Foden will get a seat on Tuchel’s Dallas-bound plane this summer. Tuchel, however, has repeatedly made the point that he sees him as an alternative to his free-scoring captain.
He stuck to those words by slipping Foden into a false-nine role upon Kane’s late withdrawal – who became England’s eighth injury casualty this international break. The FA has led us to believe that Kane’s problem is minor, but what if the next one isn’t? And what if the next one falls between the dates of 11 June and 19 July?
It is the worst case scenario for Tuchel. Kane is probably the only one of England’s “world class” crop who, as of this moment, is playing at peak form and looks like a World Cup winner. And unlike pretty much every other position, there is not an obvious option in reserve. “In the absence of Harry Kane, we don’t have the same threat,” Tuchel admitted, who said this was normal. “Top teams rely on top players and top nations rely on top players.”
So it wasn’t the worst thing in the world that against Japan, we got to see a glimpse of what Tuchel’s crisis-plan might be should he find himself without the country’s all-time record goalscorer on the biggest stage of them all.
We knew we were entering pretty fresh territory in this regard. At Euro 2024, the back-up roles were filled by Ollie Watkins and Ivan Toney; neither of whom even made Tuchel’s 35-man bumper squad for the March internationals. Dominic Calvert-Lewin was one of three ultra-fringe players who were sent home after Uruguay, though he was unlikely to ever be considered a starter. In the end, Foden was chosen ahead of the only remaining out-and-out striker, Dominic Solanke, to lead the line.
This less felt like a golden opportunity and more Foden being thrown to the wolves. The 25-year-old, even when in top form, has always come under allegations of being a system player – he has never been exceptional for England in the 10 or on the left, only Pep Guardiola. To stick him in a position that he has barely ever operated in before only felt like it would only end one way.
To his credit, Foden was a willing runner and pressed the Japanese back four to an intensity that Kane rarely ever reaches. He darted into positions and drew a smart foul early on the left flank, giving England a free-kick in a dangerous position.
But in and around the box, Foden was a passenger. His movement and positional sense was, understandably, a shadow of his captain – when the ball would break loose and spell danger for Japan, Foden was not there to pounce. “We didn’t use the width of the field enough and our offensive players struggled to make a difference in one-on-one situations,” Tuchel added.
He is not the marksman nor is he the physical presence England are conditioned to playing with. Nico O’Reilly dinked a delightful cross towards his City teammate on the edge of the six-yard box as the Three Lions searched for an equaliser following Kaoru Mitoma’s 23rd-minute opener – the goal that ended up proving the difference on this World Cup send-off. But Foden was soundly outmuscled by Crystal Palace’s slight midfielder Daichi Kamada to the header; problem solved, easily.
After a toothless first-half, Foden was still on the pitch for the restart, though there was early confusion whether he had swapped positions with either Morgan Rogers or Anthony Gordon as he operated in a very false nine. By the hour mark, he’d been hooked for Solanke. Three minutes later, England had their first shot on target of the game.
Solanke, whose starting role among the third-stringers against Uruguay sounded more like a warning to his World Cup chances, did show more signs of promise. As a proper No 9, he was still able to drop into space – a la Kane – and produced a lovely flick to set Rogers running into the box. He later nodded back a deep Ben White cross into the path of Marcus Rashford – whose introduction off the bench got a huge cheer – whose effort was the closest England came to a leveller after the break.
Maybe the Tottenham striker should be Tuchel’s answer to a Kane crisis – though of course, half an hour in a friendly is not exactly definitive evidence. Either way, a Kane understudy can only be so good. “I am not looking for a second Harry Kane; there is just not second Harry Kane,” recognises Tuchel.
The real winners of Tuesday night might just be Watkins and Toney, who could now be in line for late recalls for the squad that matters most. With no clear striking alternative and no more chances for trial and error, Tuchel will be justified in covering his back and selecting more than one forward in reserve.
That should probably force him into the tough decision to leave one of his five stellar No 10s at home this summer. After this ill-fated audition, that may be Foden.
