Life after Kane

Harry Kane will be approaching his 37th birthday when the 2030 World Cup comes around

"It's too early to talk about that," said England captain Harry Kane, when asked if he would still be around for the 2030 World Cup.

The striker fielded the question just minutes after the Three Lions had suffered the crushing 2-1 semi-final defeat to Argentina in Atlanta that denied them a first men's World Cup final since their sole success in 1966.

You could not blame him for swerving a definitive answer, yet it was a pertinent question.

After a tournament where England's attack relied almost exclusively on Kane - he has six goals along with Jude Bellingham - what are they going to do when their all-time record goalscorer retires?

This is a player who has captained his country ever since former manager Gareth Southgate gave him the armband nine years ago - and has led from the front with 85 goals in 124 appearances.

Time, though, will eventually catch up with the Bayern Munich forward.

England do at least have time for succession planning as, barring injury, Kane will be around for the home Euros in two years' time.

But he will be 33 in 10 days' time, and turn 35 shortly after that tournament ends.

Realistically, there is a strong chance Saturday's third-placed play-off against France in Miami for the bronze medal will be the final act of his England World Cup career. He will be nearly 37 by 2030's edition.

So what does the future look like for England when he does call time on his international career?

Liam Delap was tipped to be part of England's World Cup squad before a disappointing first season with Chelsea

Does England boss Thomas Tuchel only really have trust in Kane as it seemed in this World Cup?

In their seven matches in North America, he played almost every minute.

Kane was only substituted twice, with six minutes left against Panama and one minute remaining in the last-16 tie with Mexico.

Did this workload take its toll as the tournament progressed? He did not score from open play in three games after his double against DR Congo in the last 32.

Ollie Watkins played only six minutes in the whole tournament, when he replaced Kane against Panama, while Ivan Toney got a few minutes at the end of stoppage time in the loss by Argentina.

This might tell us Tuchel did not have full confidence in his options from the bench. Or any other way of playing.

England's need to have options to give Kane some rest will become increasingly important.

Toney and Watkins are both 30 themselves, while Tottenham striker Dominic Solanke (28) and Leeds United's Dominic Calvert-Lewin (29) are the only other strikers to be used by England in the last 12 months.

In 2024-25, a new Premier League record low was set when just three English forwards scored 10 or more goals - Watkins, West Ham's Jarrod Bowen and Liam Delap, when he was at Ipswich Town.

That was matched again last season with Watkins (16), Calvert-Lewin (14) and the 35-year-old Brighton attacker Danny Welbeck (13).

There is still hope the 23-year-old Delap could develop.

He had many clubs chasing his signature when he left Ipswich following their relegation in 2025, signing for Chelsea in a £30m deal.

But it has not gone to plan for Delap at Stamford Bridge, scoring one league goal in his first season.

If he does not progress, England must hope there is a young striker ready to break through in the next few years.

Who is coming up through the ranks?

England were fortunate when it came to the tail end of Wayne Rooney's international career.

Just as he was winding down, Kane broke into the international set-up when scoring 80 seconds into his debut - as a substitute for the Manchester United striker - against Lithuania in 2015.

It was a perfect handing of the baton, current record scorer to future record scorer.

England do not seem to have the same luxury, but it is worth considering Kane's career path.

Unlike Rooney at Everton or Michael Owen at Liverpool, Kane did not burst on to the scene with his club as a teenager.

Kane had to learn his trade in loan spells at Leyton Orient, Millwall, Norwich City and Leicester City.

It was not until 2014-15 season, with Kane aged 21, that he got a chance at Tottenham under Mauricio Pochettino's tenure as manager. He seemed to come from nowhere to score 21 Premier League goals and 32 in all competitions.

There are countless tales of prolific academy strikers who never make the top level in senior football.

Take Charlie McNeill, who scored 110 goals and had 38 assists in 72 matches for Manchester City's youth teams.

He moved to Manchester United, becoming only the club's second player to score 20 goals in one season at academy level.

Yet McNeill made one first-team appearance for the club as a substitute in a Europa League match against Real Sociedad in September 2022. Now 22, he plays for Sheffield Wednesday in League One.

Eddie Nketiah is the all-time record scorer for England Under-21s with 16 goals, yet after leaving Arsenal for Crystal Palace he has failed to shine. In two seasons, he has scored only five Premier League goals.

There are plenty of wide forwards, or number 10s, for England at youth level - Arsenal's Max Dowman and Liverpool's Rio Ngumoha to name two - but few number nines.

It just seems as though the system is trying to produce more technical players than out-and-out strikers.

Shim Mheuka, 18, has nine first-team appearances for Chelsea and has been prolific for the England under-19s

Aged 18, Shim Mheuka captains Chelsea's under-21 team and was named the Premier League 2 (academy level) Player of the Year for 2025-26.

The striker, who came through the Brighton academy before joining Chelsea in 2022, has scored 16 times in 23 games for England's Under-19s.

Mheuka has made nine first-team appearances for Chelsea's first team and seems certain to have a career in the professional game - but that might not be at the very top level.

Tottenham's Will Lankshear could potentially take a similar path to Kane, having had loan spells at West Brom and Oxford, but he is already aged 21.

Manchester City have 16-year-old Scotland youth international Caelan Cadamarteri, who has scored bundles of goals and qualifies for England through his father, former Everton forward Danny.

City also have 17-year-old Teddie Lamb, who moved from Leyton Orient a year ago and was the top scorer in the Premier League U18 competition last season.

Lamb was nominated for the U18 Player of the Year award, but beaten to it by Manchester United's JJ Gabriel.

Much is expected of the 15-year-old Gabriel, who will be eligible to make his first-team debut for the Red Devils next season, though he is not an out-and-out striker.

Divin Mubama was the star of West Ham's FA Youth Cup-winning side in 2023 and he too moved to Manchester City. The 21-year-old scored five goals on loan at Stoke City last season, which suggests he is some way off being ready.

Could Gordon be England's answer?

Anthony Gordon has already proved he can adapt to successfully play in the false nine role

Unless a striker emerges in the next few years, or one of those young players fulfils their potential, England will have to think outside the box.

That Plan B could be deploying a false nine, which Tuchel tried out in the international friendly against Uruguay in March.

Manchester City's Phil Foden was given a chance, but he underperformed to such an extent that he missed out on the World Cup squad.

It was almost as though that approach was such a failure it made up Tuchel's mind, that England had to fully rely on Kane.

But there is another obvious candidate in Anthony Gordon.

The 25-year-old might be better known as a left-sided wide player, but he has already shown his ability as a false nine.

Deployed in that role, Gordon was named the Player of the Tournament as England won the European Under-21 Championship in 2023, scoring two goals and assisting another.

Before leaving for Barcelona this summer, he played up front for Newcastle at times last season and has previously said that, in time, he envisages playing more centrally.

There has been a reluctance for England to try this kind of tactic, as though there must be a striker in the team.

But if no player comes through the system, it could be a necessity.

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