Jude Bellingham poses Thomas Tuchel dilemma as Harry Kane forced into new England role

There were three captains of inside .

The official captain, , the captain-for-the-night, , and the captain-in-waiting, .

And when Thomas Tuchel has finished his lengthy pre-gig holiday and turns his mind to the England football matters that will bring him £7.5million for 18 months work, he might wonder how long Bellingham should be kept waiting.

Because while might have merely been the whim of a guy enjoying the last throes of an unlikely managerial cameo, it was a reminder that no-one is undroppable. Or, indeed, is irreplaceable as skipper.

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There is no good reason to believe Tuchel – instrumental in Kane being at Bayern Munich – would consider making a captaincy change. And there is no good reason to insist he should.

But different managers like different qualities and attributes in their leader on the field, and some like to give the armband to proven winners.

Not winners in the context of being successful in a lot of matches but winners in the sense of knowing what it is like to be key figures in teams winning major honours. And Bellingham, at the age of 21, is one of those figures – with his club, that is.

That Bellingham is a future England captain is a given and the only debate should be about when he is given the honour. The argument against it happening any time soon would be reasonably compelling.

He is still a cantankerous, edgy young footballer, liable to the sort of disciplinary lapse that saw him get an early yellow card for dissent in the Olympic Stadium. He is such a talent that giving him a distraction might not be productive. And would he relish all the off-the-field duties that go with the role?

But he is a leader by example. And that is a captain’s most essential quality. In a system that suited him, Bellingham ran the England show, his pass for Noni Madueke the ingenious prelude to Ollie Watkins’ opener.

His ingenuity was matched by his industry, one surging run towards the end of the first half typical of his work. And while he can get involved in unnecessary physical tussles, there is no other player in this England squad who draws fouls as frequently as Bellingham does.

The Real Madrid star also has an eye for goal that almost produced a dividend when his clever header came back off the post early in the second half.

This was also an occasion sprinkled with hints of Bellingham’s captaincy potential – the words of encouragement for Madueke when the Chelsea man made a rare error in the second half, the congratulatory pat for Anthony Gordon after another threatening foray.

To some, it might jar, but Bellingham speaks to other players in the manner of a senior pro. He acts like a senior pro. He chastises, he cajoles.

And in periods of this game, he gave reminders – as if they were needed – of what a sensational player he is, a fabulous run and strike producing the own goal off the Greece keeper for England’s second.

This result has plenty of practical Nations League ramifications but it was also a match that should give Tuchel plenty of things to consider as he prepares to take on his World Cup challenge.

And one of them is which player should lead that challenge. Bellingham certainly made his case here.

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