Harry Kane's role in England win underlines key issue Thomas Tuchel must solve

Towards the end of a truly dismal first half, ’s poor first touch allowed Liam Scales to deliver a tackle that could not have been more old school.

Ball sent to the stands, man sent to the turf.

was quickly over to help Kane to his feet and shorten the embarrassment, Scales was congratulated by his team-mates.

Earlier in the contest, a clipped pass behind the Irish defence put Kane in a race with Nathan Collins, the defender not known for his searing speed. In four or five strides, Collins left Kane trailing.

Rapidity has never been in Kane’s impressive armoury and that moment was a simple reminder.

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What is in Kane’s armoury is the superb pass, a quality he showcased early in the second half with the ball that, essentially, . It was a 30-yard thing of threaded diagonal beauty, giving a clear sight of goal to Jude Bellingham, who was promptly brought down by Scales, who collected a second yellow card.

What is also in Kane’s armoury is the calmly-taken penalty - albeit absent against France in Qatar - and his clipped conversion of the spot-kick made the rest of the match a formality.

And his 69th England goal clearly meant a lot to him, particularly in the context of him being dropped for the game against Greece in Athens last Thursday.

After Kane’s first positive intervention of the evening, the depleted Irish went to pieces, making the pass and penalty easily the most important elements of this England performance. And that is why the captain remains a key player in this England set-up

But what was abundantly clear from Kane’s overall performance is that one of ’s primary challenges will be to find more than one alternative attacking option that does not have the Bayern Munich striker as the focal point.

Tuchel likes Kane, was instrumental in taking him to Germany and will, more than likely, reaffirm Kane’s position as the leader of this group.

But before Ireland disintegrated and before he found Bellingham with that beauty of a ball, Kane had far from impressed.

While it is hard to be critical of someone who precipitated a five-goal winning rout, Kane’s first half struggle was a reminder of why he is no longer undroppable.

Being as brilliantly driven as he is, Kane will have been disappointed that he did not add to his tally in what became a turkey shoot for Lee Carsley’s team.

For England fans, it was fun to watch, but for Tuchel, it will not have been overly informative. If he does go through the video a few times, he will probably focus on the first half toil rather than the second half romp.

But, hopefully, he will send a message of gratitude to Carsley, not only for avoiding a pesky Nations League play-off but for showing that there is very decent, youthful strength-in-depth in English ranks.

Carsley deserves thanks for a fine six-game job, for his adventurous style of play and for introducing so much young talent.

Yes, this was second-tier Nations League and the standard was not great. But he was not afraid to try new things … and, on one occasion, he was not afraid to leave Kane out.

The skipper sparked this victory but Tuchel should still take note.

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