Gary Lineker questions Thomas Tuchel decision involving Leeds United star during England vs Czechia
Only one of Leeds United’s two England stars featured in Tuesday’s 2-0 win over Czechia.
Thomas Tuchel’s decision to leave Leeds United striker Dominic Calvert-Lewin on the bench against Czechia has been discussed by Gary Lineker.
Calvert-Lewin was an unused substitute on Tuesday night as England beat Czechia 2-0 in Prague in the Nations League. The Three Lions played against 10-men for over an hour after Pavel Sulc was shown a straight red card for a high challenge on Elliot Anderson.
England spent virtually the entire game trying to break down a stern Czech defence with second-half goals from Anthony Gordon and Harry Kane. That second goal came in the 69th minute, at which point Tuchel started making changes.
Two minutes after scoring, Kane was taken off but unlike against Spain last weekend, Tuchel didn’t turn to Calvert-Lewin. Instead, he introduced Jude Bellingham, a midfielder by trade, to play in a false nine position.
"Interesting though, I just thought from a tactical perspective, that when Kane came off he didn't put Calvert-Lewin on," Lineker told The Rest Is Football. "He kind of played Bellingham as a false nine, which I think, looking ahead... What's Kane now, 33?
“So we're going to have to look beyond Harry Kane at some point. There's no natural progressor at the moment, but maybe Tuchel sees Bellingham possibly as a false nine. He could play anywhere.”
Calvert-Lewin got around seven minutes off the bench in last weekend’s 3-2 defeat against Spain. But the Leeds man was forced to watch from the sidelines in Prague, with Tuchel clearly fancying Bellingham in a more attacking role.
England are still without an obvious successor to Kane, who will be 34 when the 2028 European Championships kick off. Lineker’s fellow former striker Alan Shearer echoed his thoughts about Bellingham.
"I thought that as well because you’ve said something similar before,” Shearer added. “As soon as he brought him on, I thought exactly the same thing."
Calvert-Lewin will hope to get more minutes under his belt when England face Croatia on Saturday evening. The Three Lions then host recent opponents Czechia at Wembley on Tuesday October 6.