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<\/p>\nHarry Kane and Jude Bellingham are blossoming together for England<\/p>\n
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England\u2019s No 9 is Harry Kane, the top goalscorer in the Bundesliga. England\u2019s No 10 is Jude Bellingham, the top goalscorer in La Liga. They are first and fifth respectively in the list of most goal involvements across Europe\u2019s top five leagues. So it is not much a stretch to conclude that, right now, seven months out from Euro 2024, England have the best strike force in international football.<\/p>\n
Their double-act in the 3-1 win over Italy last month was testament to that mantle. Kane would drop deep and link play while Bellingham drove into spaces behind. They combined to win England a penalty after Bellingham bounced the ball off Kane as he pinned down a centre-back, and the entire performance offered a glimpse of what a terrifying prospect they could be together at the Euros in Germany next summer. <\/p>\n
Sitting with reporters in the home dressing room at Wembley Stadium ahead of England\u2019s final qualifying camp next week, Gareth Southgate ponders the idea that he might have the best pairing in the world. \u201cI think on form it would be hard to beat them,\u201d he says, after giving it some thought. \u201cI\u2019m trying to think of everybody\u2019s strike force and see what others have got…\u201d <\/p>\n
Argentina won the World Cup with Lionel Messi and Julian Alvarez, France have Kylian Mbappe and Randal Kolo Muani, Norway have Martin Odegaard behind Erling Haaland. But would England swap Bellingham and Kane? \u201cThe long and the short of it is we are really happy and we love the pair of them.\u201d<\/p>\n
Even by his own high standards, Kane\u2019s output has been extraordinary in his opening few months at Bayern Munich. He has 15 goals and five assists in 10 Bundesliga games, and his 20 involvements put him well clear of the next best tally in Europe\u2019s major leagues, Stuttgart\u2019s Serhou Guirassy (15), before you get to Erling Haaland and Inter Milan\u2019s Lautaro Martinez (both 13), and then Bellingham (12). In total Kane has 30 goal involvements already this season for club and country, in November. The Premier League has only just adopted its winter ball.<\/p>\n
Perhaps that is no surprise when you take a world-class player and put him an utterly dominant team. The hope for England is that at Bayern, Kane might free himself of the pressure to finally win a trophy.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think clearly it\u2019s a missing piece for him at the moment and I\u2019m sure if you spoke to all our guys who have won trophies, it changes how you view yourself,\u201d Southgate says. \u201cIt isn\u2019t going to change what we think he is capable of and isn\u2019t going to change his talent. But in terms of his mindset and how he will feel, I\u2019m sure that\u2019s something he will benefit from.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt struck me driving home from our last game [the win over Italy], we were understandably talking about Jude but Kane had scored two, his overall performance was incredible and looking at his caps and goals is staggering, really. So there is a risk we really underestimate what we\u2019ve got and what we\u2019ve had for the last few years because any team, any country would love him as their No 9.\u201d<\/p>\n
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Kane scores from his own half in one of his three Bundesliga hat-tricks <\/p>\n
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Bellingham celebrates after winning the Clasico for Real Madrid<\/p>\n
While Kane\u2019s Bundesliga goals might have been predicted, Bellingham\u2019s prolific start to life at Real Madrid has come as more of a surprise. Here was a player forging his early career as a box-to-box action man who could drive through the middle of the pitch, but who is now quickly becoming one of the most potent attackers in the world, something England are keen to exploit.<\/p>\n
\u201cJude\u2019s positional evolution is really interesting because the goals wasn\u2019t something that was obvious at Dortmund,\u201d Southgate says. \u201cHe was 12 [goals] from 92 [games]; he is now 13 in 14 games at Madrid so he has played a different role and gained confidence from scoring. He has been in the right space for a few tap-ins as well so there\u2019s been a real mixture.\u201d<\/p>\n
Southgate is speaking after naming his squad for England\u2019s final two Euro 2024 qualifiers, against Malta and North Macedonia later this month. Newcastle\u2019s Callum Wilson and the fit-again Bukayo Saka have been called up to replace the injured John Stones and Saka\u2019s Arsenal teammate Eddie Nketiah, while Raheem Sterling has again been omitted. England have qualified already but still have a little work left to ensure top spot and primary seeding for December\u2019s group stage draw.<\/p>\n
Bellingham is included in the squad despite doubts over a shoulder injury which kept him out of Real Madrid\u2019s Champions League fixture this week. He may not feature in both games, while Kane might be in line for a rest too after such a busy start to the season. Yet Southgate expects both will demand to play, to continue a blossoming partnership between a lethal No 9 and a prodigious No 10, two players almost exactly 10 years apart in age, England\u2019s current captain and his likely successor.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s great, we want good players who are playing well,\u201d Southgate says. \u201cWe\u2019re not the only ones with good players playing well. Portugal look very, very strong, France are obviously very, very strong, so there are other countries… We know a Euros, from Greece winning it, from the Czech Republic getting to finals, teams can hit form at the time, but you want ideally to be going in as one of the favourites and that\u2019s the position over the last couple of tournaments that we\u2019ve been in.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo it\u2019s brilliant that they\u2019re playing well. It\u2019s a bit early for us! But it\u2019s great that you can see the level of the boys and the confidence they will be getting from playing at big clubs in Europe. And they\u2019ll have a broader feel of where everything sits than perhaps the lads that have only played in England.\u201d<\/p>\n