On the topic of skippers, Thomas Tuchel warned this week that England “will not get another Harry Kane” as the free-scoring striker drives towards record numbers without any clear sign of a successor.

The 33-year-old is in the form of his life, with his 73 goals for club and country last season making the Bayern Munich frontman favourite to win this year’s Ballon d’Or.

Kane has started in a similar vein this term, putting the disappointment of his costly penalty miss against Spain aside by scoring in this week’s 2-0 win in Czechia to make it two goals in as many international games since the World Cup.

That extended Kane’s national team record to 87 goals and it seems a matter of when rather than if he racks up a century; indeed, Tuchel said with a smile that at this rate it will only take 13 matches.

“The highest level of goalscorer, of finishing,” the England boss said of Kane, who can equal Peter Shilton’s 125-cap appearance record at home to Czechia next week if he plays in Croatia tonight.

“He is the first one to push everyone and that is his mindset and he became a very, very hardworking forward on top of his finishing skills. He is a complete package.”

Kane is one of the best strikers of his generation, but his back-up has long been a headache for England.

Ollie Watkins and Ivan Toney filled that role at the last two tournaments but the Saudi Arabia-based pair are also in their thirties and were overlooked for these Nations League fixtures. Dominic Calvert-Lewin, 29, was selected this time and who succeeds Kane is an ever bigger issue, with Liam Delap the only English number nine under the age of 27 to have scored a Champions League goal.

Having been told of that statistic, Tuchel said: “You will not get another Harry Kane, first of all.

“We look for different options and solutions. We finished the game with Jude (Bellingham) up front as a number nine. There will be someone else, but it will not be Harry or a copy of Harry. We will find a solution when it comes to it but maybe not me. It might be another 10 years.”

Tuchel did, however, say that Bellingham “can for sure” be in the conversation to take up the England captaincy when the day comes for Kane to hang up his boots internationally.