Thomas Tuchel is grappling with a tactical dilemma as England aims to maximize Harry Kane’s contributions while encouraging additional support from his teammates. Jude Bellingham’s standout display against Panama exemplified how this dual objective can be achieved.
Kane has netted 13 goals in the 17 matches under Tuchel’s guidance, yet no other player has surpassed three goals. He secured a penalty and a header from a corner against Croatia, but missed a rebound in the Ghana encounter, highlighting a lack of opportunities in open play.
Typically, a center-forward receives fewer passes than their teammates, although Kane often attempts to mitigate this by dropping deeper. The primary concern for England has been the players responsible for delivering the ball to their leading scorer during this tournament, as it has frequently not been those expected.
In the opening match, Jordan Pickford made the most passes to Kane, totaling three, while Marc Guéhi matched that in the second game. Against Panama, three players managed to play four passes to Kane, but Bellingham demonstrated that quality can triumph over quantity by needing only two passes to make a significant impact.
It is somewhat surprising that the Real Madrid midfielder and Kane have not formed a stronger connection for the national team. Data from Opta reveals that prior to the Panama match, Bellingham had created merely three chances for England’s all-time leading scorer over 1,154 minutes of shared playtime in major tournaments.
Before this World Cup, the duo had only combined for one goal in a friendly victory at Hampden Park in 2023. A similarly crafted pass that unlocked Scotland’s defense that evening also proved effective against Panama.
During the first 56 minutes against Panama, England managed a mere 0.54 expected goals before a through ball from Bellingham set up Kane for the team’s first major scoring opportunity. Shortly after, Bellingham won a corner, scored from it, and assisted Kane for their second goal.
Opta’s metric for expected assists, which gauges the likelihood of completed passes resulting in goals, identified Bellingham’s passes against Panama as having a value of 0.57—the highest among England players in a group match. Only Noni Madueke (0.66) surpassed this mark across all three games.
The chances Bellingham created for Kane were pivotal, ranking as the second and joint-fourth highest expected goal opportunities created by any England player in the group stage.
The task ahead for Tuchel is to ensure such productive moments become a consistent element of England’s gameplay, particularly as they approach a likely low-block defense from the Democratic Republic of the Congo in their upcoming match.
- World Cup 2026
- Jude Bellingham
- Harry Kane
- England
- World Cup
- Analysis
