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Thomas Tuchel agreed there was a degree of inevitability as Harry Kane lengthened his stride and accelerated towards a ton of England goals.
'He is closing in, he scored again,' said Tuchel after Kane’s 87th goal for his country, a typical precision strike for the second in a 2-0 win over the Czech Republic on Tuesday.
'Thirteen left,' observed the England boss, smiling as he added: 'Thirteen matches.'
Kane has become such a master craftsman that it certainly feels as if he will score in every game.
'He is the highest level of goalscorer, of finishing,' said Tuchel, who has given up the search for a like-for-like successor to his 33-year-old captain.
'You will not get another Harry Kane. We look for different options and solutions.'
In Prague, England ended the game with Jude Bellingham as a centre forward.
'There will be someone else, but it will not be Harry or a copy of Harry,' said Tuchel. 'We will find a solution when it comes to it but maybe not me, it might be another 10 years.'
Thomas Tuchel says it will take ten years to replace England striker Harry Kane
Kane scored within two minutes of coming on for his England debut in 2015 and has not stopped. Nor has he stopped trying to improve his game.
He leads from the front of the running sessions and sets standards in the camp.
'He is not behind, he is not slow, he is not doing his shoes,' explained Tuchel. 'He is the first one out there and the first one to push everyone and that is his mindset.
'He became a very, very hard-working forward on top of his finishing skills. He is a complete package.'
Tuchel was Bayern Munich boss when they signed him from Tottenham, a deal Bayern president Uli Hoeness considers the best signing the German giants ever made.
'That is so beautiful as it tells me everyone can see his true value and his personality,' said the England boss.
'And that he imposed that into a big club like Bayern Munich and he gets the full praise for it and that is very, very impressive.
'It is not easy to change and to come to Bayern Munich when you win, win, win and it is a big club. You are under the spotlight and he won everyone over with his quality, work ethic and his personality. It is a beautiful story.'
Kane became England’s record scorer with his 53rd goal against Italy in March 2023 to move ahead of Wayne Rooney.
In three and a half years since, he has moved 35 clear of Rooney and is on course to claim another record which will enhance his case to be considered the greatest England player of all time.
Kane can equal Peter Shilton’s record of 125 caps in the Nations League return against the Czechs at Wembley on Tuesday if he plays against Croatia on Saturday.
Source: Sport
