Bukayo Saka is irreplaceable, Myles Lewis-Skelly can fill the Luke Shaw void and six things England boss Thomas Tuchel learned from his first games in charge against Albania and Latvia

The build-up to the international break was once again punctuated by the ludicrous claims in certain sections of the English press that Harry Kane was the national team's 'biggest problem'.

Unsurprisingly, the Bayern Munich striker issued the perfect riposte, scoring in both qualifiers to extend his historic haul for his country to 71 goals in just 105 games - which is a truly sensational strike-rate and yet Kane's consistency is either downplayed or taken for granted by some of his compatriots.

Kane may be 31 but he's clearly not past it. He's scored 10 times in 11 Champions League outings this season, and has nine goals in his last 16 appearances at international level. Given the worrying lack of legitimate challengers to lead the line, England really would be lost without him.

Obviously, Kane's presence up top means serious thought has to go into who to position around him in order to play to his strengths. But the situation is hardly comparable to Portugal continuing to carry Cristiano Ronaldo in attack. Unlike the Al-Nassr attacker, Kane is still delivering at the very highest level and capable of contributing outside of the area.

Of course, Tuchel needs no convincing of Kane's enduring quality but the former Bayern boss will have been delighted to see his skipper issue a timely reminder that he can still be counted upon to put the ball in the back of the net.

With John Stones and Harry Maguire ruled out through injury and Jarrad Branthwaite inexplicably overlooked, the stage was set for Marc Guehi to establish himself as one of the pillars of Tuchel's England defence.

However, Guehi didn't even get off the bench in the 2-0 win over Albania, with man of the moment Dan Burn picked ahead of him, and looked desperately shaky in Monday's 3-0 defeat of Latvia, with the Crystal Palace centre-back guilty of a couple of slips that could easily have led to goals.

By complete contrast, Ezri Konsa, who started both matches, couldn't have looked much more at home at Wembley and his only disappointment was probably failing to open his international account against Latvia after the ball dropped invitingly for the Aston Villa ace in the area after an England corner.

A lot can obviously change over the next 15 months but with some of his more senior rivals for a starting spot struggling for either form or fitness, and Tuchel seemingly unconvinced by the more youthful contenders, the 27-year-old Konsa now appears perfectly placed to lock down a starting spot in the lead-up to the World Cup.

Tuchel took a risk even just calling up Myles Lewis-Skelly, so immediately starting the 18-year-old makeshift left-back with just 14 Premier League appearances to his name was one hell of a gamble.

Still, there were mitigating circumstances. With Lewis Hall and the perma-crocked Luke Shaw out injured, Tuchel had no other attractive options. Secondly, a home game against Albania represented a very gentle introduction to international football. And, thirdly, and perhaps most importantly of all, Lewis-Skelly is already really, really good.

Still, it was impressive to see just how easily the Arsenal academy graduate dealt with the pressure, with Lewis-Skelly becoming the youngest debutant ever to score for England with a wonderfully composed finish.

Perhaps unsurprisingly for a midfielder by trade, Lewis-Skelly also looked the part every time he stepped into more central areas, which only strengthened the belief that Tuchel may have already found an answer to England's longstanding left-back problem.

Making do without Bukayo Saka is not easy. Just ask Mikel Arteta. But the hope was that England wouldn't have quite so much difficulty filling the void left by the injured Saka, given the wealth of attacking talent available to Tuchel.

However, two try-outs ended in disappointment.

Phil Foden got the nod to start on the right wing against Albania but he performed dismally on the night - and the sad thing is that his no-show didn't really come as that much of a surprise.

Foden has long flattered to deceive for his country - truth be told, he was lucky to even be included in the latest squad - while his fluctuating form has also become a cause for concern at Manchester City this season.

Jarrod Bowen was a little livelier than Foden against Latvia and was arguably unlucky not to win a penalty during the first half but his overall performance was poor.

The bottom line, then, England need Saka back in the squad as soon as possible as he is clearly irreplaceable.

Jude Bellingham is clearly a strong character. It undoubtedly played a major part in him reaching the pinnacle of his profession at such a young age. He demands a lot of himself and his team-mates, and can often be seen berating superstars such as Vinicius Junior during Real Madrid games.

However, while an insatiable will to win is nearly always a positive for a player, it can occasionally be a negative, as it sometimes results in fiercely committed characters allowing frustration to get the better of them.

And Bellingham should have been sent off at Wembley on Monday night - it really is as simple as that. As he struggled to impose himself on the game in the manner to which he's accustomed, he grew increasingly irritated and deserved a second yellow for a stupidly reckless tackle on Raivis Jurkovskis.

Tuchel tried to make out that Bellingham's first yellow was "harsh" but that was besides the point - and he knew it too, which is why he almost immediately removed the No.10 from the fray, as England were only leading 1-0 at the time.

"[A red card] would have turned the game upside down so we decided to take him out straight away," the manager said. "I didn't want to take the risk."

In short, Bellingham had become a liability, and the hope must be that Tuchel will have a word with the 21-year-old about an aggressive attitude that has already been a topic of debate for some time now.

Bellingham is one of the best players in the world but he won't be much use to England if he can't learn to control his emotions.

Tuchel promised to infuse England with a new energy and enthusiasm but that's clearly going to take time - and he doesn't have much.

The hope was that he could immediately fire up the fans but an uninspiring squad selection followed by two tepid displays against low-ranked opposition had already dampened the mood around Wembley Way by Monday night - particularly as a number of England's European rivals had underlined their World Cup credentials in thrilling and high-quality Nations League encounters the evening before.

It's not going to get any easier for the new boss to generate some excitement around England either, as their qualifying group is dreadfully dull, meaning they'll be expected to not only win every game - but do so in emphatic fashion, with the one meaningful test of their mettle and methods likely to come against Serbia in Belgrade on September 9.

The Euro 2024 runners-up will have three more games before then - a friendly against Senegal is sandwiched in between two meetings with Andorra - and not one of those fixtures is likely to tell us very much about the true strength of Tuchel's team, which will probably only be revealed in North America next summer.

However, he's already down to just five international breaks before the World Cup gets under way and while the average fan may loathe the pauses in Premier League play, they're going to be absolutely vital from Tuchel's perspective in terms of team-building and implementing his tactical game-plan.

Indeed, if he's learned anything from these first two games, it's that after the cowardly conservatism that characterised Southgate's spell in charge, turning the Three Lions into a fearless and formidable force in just over a year is going to be a seriously tough task.