\n<\/p>\n
Harry Kane will be almost 35 by the time Euro 2028 rolls along so how are England stocked for replacements or successors? Not well. Not well at all\u2026<\/p>\n
With the Three Lions home from the 2026 World Cup with their bronze medals<\/strong>attention inevitably turns to the future and the 2028 European Championships being hosted on these shores.<\/p>\n Can England end 62 years of hurt? To have a hope, they will need a goalscorer.<\/p>\n Harry Kane will be 35 less than three weeks after the tournament. It is not completely mental to think that England\u2019s greatest goalscorer will still be going strong. That\u2019s the good news.<\/p>\n The bad news is that, at the very least, Thomas Tuchel \u2013 assuming he\u2019s still in the job \u2013 will need a striker capable of standing in for Kane.<\/p>\n Options are perilously thin on the ground. At this stage, it looks most likely that it\u2019ll be Jude Bellingham<\/strong>.<\/p>\n But England need to give Bellingham a platform to perform in his best position, which isn\u2019t as a centre-forward. Bellingham needs a striker to play off.<\/p>\n Who might that be? Here\u2019s how we\u2019ve ranked England\u2019s striking options who will be younger than 2026 Kane in 2028.<\/p>\n And here\u2019s a full XI who could win Euro 2028<\/strong>.<\/p>\n Kane came through the ranks to succeed Wayne Rooney, so who in Lee Carsley\u2019s squad could we could burden with such expectation?<\/p>\n Manchester City striker Mubama, 21, represented England through every age group from Under-15s and has five goals in seven caps for the Under-21s.<\/p>\n The 21-year-old came through the ranks at West Ham, making his senior debut there before becoming frustrated with a lack of senior opportunities. So obviously he joined City in 2024 because they don\u2019t have any decent centre-forwards.<\/p>\n Mubama spent last season on loan at Stoke, scoring five goals, but he hardly set the Championship alight. Most likely, he\u2019ll be playing in the second tier again next season, perhaps for Derby.<\/p>\n Toney just qualifies here since in 2028 he will be marginally younger than Kane was at this World Cup. For which the ex-Brentford striker was chosen as one of the Three Lions\u2019 alternatives for Kane.<\/p>\n Or was he? Tuchel\u2019s reluctance to play Toney for anything but the final seconds of a the semi-final defeat when he joined Dan Burn up front or the nonsense bronze final<\/strong> suggests there may be some credence to the theory that the 30-year-old travelled as a penalties specialist.<\/p>\n Toney was a surprise call-up owing to being out of sight and out of the minds of many England fans at Al-Ahli. Without getting out of Saudi any time soon, it\u2019s hard to imagine him playing a notable role in England\u2019s future.<\/p>\n The Crystal Palace striker is the all-time record scorer for England Under-21s with 16 goals. Surely that counts for something?<\/p>\n Sadly, the five Premier League goals Nketiah has scored since leaving Arsenal for Palace two years ago is a better indicator of his prospects.<\/p>\n Without a dramatic and unexpected improvement in his output at Palace, which we think is fair to assume is unlikely at this point in his career, then Nketiah will go down as another who couldn\u2019t navigate the chasm between youth and senior international football.<\/p>\n Like Toney, by the time the Euros roll around, Watkins will be almost the same age as Kane was at this World Cup.<\/p>\n He peaked just in time to be recalled for six minutes at this tournament, having been trusted more by Gareth Southgate to stand in for Kane at Euro 2024, but can he go again in time for 2028?<\/p>\n Probably not. At 32, will he retain the pace his game relies upon? Will he be playing at the top level? There is talk he could be in Turkey by the end of the summer, which doesn\u2019t bode well for Watkins\u2019 future international prospects. Unlike Toney, he can\u2019t play the penalties card.<\/p>\n Calvert-Lewin was given a brief audition for the World Cup but failed to convince Tuchel he was a better option than Watkins or Toney. He\u2019s barely a year younger than both, so he hardly has that going for him?<\/p>\n But at F365, we\u2019re nothing if not happy-go-lucky beacons of optimism and hope. Since Calvert-Lewin missed at least a season and a half throughout his career, maybe his legs are fresher than your average 29-year-old? And maybe his peak is still ahead of him having now put down roots at Leeds United, coming off the back of his second-best ever season for goals and appearances?<\/p>\n No, you\u2019re burying your head in the sand.<\/p>\n MORE: \u2018Absolute menace\u2019 Jude Bellingham must replace Harry Kane for England<\/strong><\/p>\n Like Nketiah, Solanke\u2019s international legacy seem destined to be at youth level, though his prospects of belatedly making a mark at senior level are rather better than the Palace striker\u2019s.<\/p>\n Roberto De Zerbi has spoken of his fondness for Solanke, describing him as \u201cone of the best strikers in the Premier League\u201d back in April. So the 28-year-old may get a chance to further his England cause in a Spurs side that should be made for its centre-forward.<\/p>\n Solanke\u2019s first test: staying fit for long enough to string some form together.<\/p>\n If Tuchel is open to get around the lack of centre-forwards by just going without, then Gordon could offer another false nine option to leave Bellingham to do his thing from deep.<\/p>\n Gordon has had some success in that position with the Under-21s, winning the U21 Euros in 2023 while being named Player of the Tournament.<\/p>\n The Barca new boy impressed in 16 appearances, scoring nine goals and creating another through the middle for Newcastle last season. We wait to see what Hansi Flick has in mind for Gordon, but some similar form for Barca next season could open Tuchel\u2019s mind to giving it a try.<\/p>\n Delap was seen as the best prospect to succeed Kane when he joined Chelsea a year ago. But just a single Premier League goal since moving to Stamford Bridge has significantly dampened those expectations.<\/p>\n At 23, though, hope remains that he night find the form that made him one of three English strikers to bag double figures in the Premier League in 2024\/25. And that was in a relegated Ipswich team.<\/p>\n To do that, he needs to get out of Chelsea. Delap will always be second fiddle to Joao Pedro so it is imperative that he finds a more prominent role this summer. Newcastle or Everton perhaps.<\/p>\n <\/div>\n8) Divine Mubama<\/h2>\n
7) Ivan Toney<\/h2>\n
6) Eddie Nketiah<\/h2>\n
5) Ollie Watkins<\/h2>\n
4) Dominic Calvert-Lewin<\/h2>\n
3) Dominic Solanke<\/h2>\n
2) Anthony Gordon<\/h2>\n
1) Liam Delap<\/h2>\n