Alan Shearer fears for future England striker hopes as Harry Kane retirement fears linger after World Cup exit

ALAN SHEARER is worried about England’s attacking options once Harry Kane’s legs finally go. Kane – who turns 33 later this month – is England’s top scorer with 85 goals and is set to eclipse ex-goalkeeper Peter Shilton’s record of 125 caps for the Three Lions. Alan Shearer is worried about England’s attacking options once Harry Kane’s legs finally go Credit: Getty England’s title hopes were knocked down in a heartbreaking 2-1 defeat against Argentina Credit: Getty Like the rest of the squad, he cut a devastated figure as Thomas Tuchel’s troops lost 2-1 to Argentina in the World Cup semi-finals in Atlanta. And, despite an incredible scoring spree for Bayern Munich last season, Kane will be approaching his 35th birthday by the time the European Championships take place across England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales in 2028. Sign up for the Football newsletter Thank you! There is a good chance he will not be the talisman for the nation when the World Cup takes place in 2030 across three continents. And Shearer – the Premier League’s top scorer with 260 goals – is concerned about the replacements for Kane for when he does call it a day. READ MORE ON THE WORLD CUP Speaking in his role as a Betfair ambassador, Shearer, 55, said: “The one area of concern for me would be at the minute if Harry is not in the Euro 2028 squad. “Who are the centre forwards going to be for England? “Unfortunately that looks like a difficult question to answer at the moment. “I think that would be a concern because clearly, he can’t go on forever. And another two years on, he’s going to be touching 35. Most read in Sport WORLD CUP 2026 FREE BETS AND SIGN UP OFFERS “Whether he’ll still be at the level or not, I think without doubt he’ll get the appearance record for England and deserves it. “He’s been a giant for England. But whether he can go again in the future I am not sure. “I don’t think he will be around in four years’ time, but whether he can go again in two years, then we’ll have to see. That might be a different matter. “He knows his body better than most. But he looked sharp in this World Cup, to be honest. “I know we didn’t see the best of him. He didn’t produce in the game against Argentina, but up until then, I thought he more than played his part and he had some brilliant moments.” Shearer has been criss-crossing the United States and Mexico to cover England matches for the BBC. The former Newcastle striker is not jumping on the ‘Tuchel out bandwagon’ despite the semi-final exit. And he believes the German coach – who has the full backing of the FA – will learn from the “costly error” he made with his substitutes in the defeat last Wednesday to Lionel Messi’s Argentina. Shearer has not sided with the ‘Tuchel Out’ party but hopes he will learn from his error Credit: Alamy Shearer said: “I said before the tournament, I wouldn’t have picked the squad that he picked. “There would have been four, five, maybe six different players in it for me, but that’s fine. “They got through to a semi-final again. Given his contract, given what has gone on, he’s made an error, a costly error, and it’s hurt us. “But I do think he can continue to the Euros and hopefully that won’t happen again. “I hope he accepts that he got it wrong. I guess you always look forward and you learn, no matter how old you are and how successful you’ve been. “He’ll be hurting, I guess. I don’t think this Argentina team are as good as the one that won the World Cup four years ago. “A very similar squad, four years older. There was an unbelievable opportunity for us there. “We worked so hard to get in front and do the hard part. Then to see what happened afterwards, well it without doubt would have hurt the players. “You’re probably better off speaking to him in two or three weeks’ time rather than directly two minutes after a game when the pain and the hurt is there.” Alan Shearer was speaking ahead of the final two games at the 2026 World Cup. Everyone’s got an opinion, back yours at Betfair. For World Cup odds please visit betfair.com/betting/ Comment now