Jude Bellingham decision, Harry Kane backup: Thomas Tuchel's three biggest England dilemmas for 2026 World Cup

According to the statistics, England have just embarked on their best-ever qualification campaign for a major tournament.

Eight games, eight wins, 22 goals scored and zero conceded, the Three Lions became the first European nation to punch their ticket to the World Cup 2026 competition, where Thomas Tuchel will be tasked with ending 60 years of senior men's hurt at the quadrennial global gathering.

England had previously won all of their qualification games for a major tournament three times - ahead of the 1950 and 1954 World Cups, as well as Euro 2016 - but they had never done so while keeping a clean sheet in every match, which is a testament both to the calibre of opposition and their rearguard resilience.

Tuchel has also overseen England's longest-ever winning run in competitive fixtures - 11 in a row - and the former Chelsea and Paris Saint-Germain manager will no doubt already know a few shoo-ins for his starting XI next summer, unless injury strikes.

Jordan Pickford is the undisputed number one. Harry Kane will lead the line. Bukayo Saka is an attacking guarantee. Declan Rice and Elliot Anderson appear nailed on as a midfield two. John Stones and Marc Guehi should link up at the back, likely with Reece James alongside them.

But Tuchel - like every other North America-bound coach - does not have it all figured out just yet. Here, Sports Mole looks at the England manager's three biggest selection quandaries with just under half a year to go until the World Cup.

The number 10 debate: Jude Bellingham? Morgan Rogers? Cole Palmer?

At the start of the year, fans would be forgiven for placing bets on Bellingham starting as England's number 10 throughout their next World Cup campaign, having witnessed the Birmingham boy wreak havoc for club and country over the past couple of seasons.

However, Tuchel raised many an eyebrow when he omitted the 22-year-old from his October squad following his recovery from a shoulder injury, allowing Morgan Rogers and Eberechi Eze the opportunity to strut their stuff against Wales and Latvia.

England scored eight goals across those two fixtures - one each for the Aston Villa playmaker and Arsenal creator - while the negatives of Bellingham's display against Albania seemed to outweigh the positives at full time.

The Real Madrid star's numbers were far from disastrous, as he created two chances - including England's best opening of the first half for Jarrod Bowen, whose strike was kept out well by Thomas Strakosha - won three free kicks and completed two successful dribbles, but he also lost the ball 14 times and made headlines for his reaction to being substituted.

The latter incident prompted a firm response from Tuchel, who does not only have Rogers pushing for playmaking minutes, but also Eze, Phil Foden, Morgan Gibbs White and - if and when he returns to full fitness - Cole Palmer.

Come the World Cup, Bellingham will most likely be operating just off captain Kane, but the 22-year-old is far from a guarantee while Tuchel has an embarrassment of creative riches.

Who is Harry Kane's backup striker?

With another two goals in Tirana on Sunday evening, Kane has now scored more on the international stage than Pele himself, and the Bayern Munich talisman appears to only be getting better on the domestic front too.

The Tottenham Hotspur legend has contributed to a marvellous 26 goals in just 17 games for Bayern this season - 23 of his own and three assists - and barring a disastrous loss of form or injury, he will sport the armband across the Atlantic.

But just who will step into the captain's boots if something goes wrong?

The lack of a genuine backup for Kane stuck out like a sore thumb in Tuchel's November selection, and the German subsequently shoe-horned Phil Foden into an auxiliary false nine role during the second half of the win over Serbia, where he played the final pass before Eze's goal.

Jarrod Bowen and Marcus Rashford can also operate in that slot, but they are not out-and-out number nines a la Kane, whose regular deputy - Ollie Watkins - was left out on account of scoring just one Premier League goal this season.

Meanwhile, Tottenham Hotspur's Dominic Solanke has been plagued by an ankle injury all season, and Ah-Ahli's Ivan Toney has not been called up since the friendly loss to Senegal in June, despite scoring a creditable 11 goals in 15 games so far this term.

Talk of a January return to England for the ex-Brentford man has been shot down by Al-Ahli's sporting director, so unless one or both of Solanke and Watkins regain fitness and form fast, Liam Delap and Danny Welbeck may stick their hands up.

Will Marcus Rashford, Nico O'Reilly start on the left?

If Sunday's success over Albania was a glimpse into England's immediate future on the left-hand side, Three Lions supporters can breathe a sigh of relief, thanks both to Pep Guardiola's former club and his current club.

The rejuvenated Rashford provided one of the assists of Qualifying in Tirana, opening up his body to send in a masterful inswinging cross to the back post, where Kane comfortably rose above his man and headed home the visitors' second of the night.

The Barcelona loanee also came close to a goal as delightful as his assist - his 20-yard strike flashed wide thanks to a tiny deflection - and his numbers for the La Liga champions speak for themselves; 15 direct contributions in 16 games.

No player in the Spanish top flight has provided more assists than Rashford's seven, while Anthony Gordon has not even been directly involved in a single Premier League goal for Newcastle United this season.

Gordon has bagged four in the Champions League alone, though, while Eze and Arsenal teammate Noni Madueke - currently injured - can each offer a unique dimension to the left-hand side when on the top of their game. And do not forget about Jack Grealish either.

However, if Rashford maintains his masterful streak, his spot in the XI should not be up for debate, and some Manchester City supporters may justifiably say the same about Nico O'Reilly right now.

The 20-year-old comfortably adapted to the conditions on his first two England starts this month, and there was little wrong with his performance against Albania, where he won all six of his duels and completed 92% of his passes in the opposition half.

However, by the time the World Cup comes around, he may be one of just seven players all vying for the left-back spot, which was formerly Myles Lewis-Skelly's before he was usurped by Riccardo Calafiori at Arsenal.

The fearless and combative teenager will come back into contention if his game time increases, as will Newcastle United pair Tino Livramento and Lewis Hall when they are 100% fit again, not to mention towering teammate Dan Burn.

Or what about a return for Luke Shaw, whose fitness problems have subsided this season, allowing him to start every Premier League game for Manchester United? The 30-year-old has featured more centrally than in recent terms, but there is no questioning what he can do at left-back for England.

Tottenham Hotspur's Djed Spence has built up his experience on that side too, and Crystal Palace's Tyrick Mitchell - who has remarkably not been called up since March 2022 - must surely have a case for a seat on the plane as well.

While Tuchel must already have some idea of what his optimal World Cup XI looks like, he still has some critical dilemmas to solve. Thankfully for the 52-year-old, they are the best kind of dilemmas a manager can have.