Ollie Watkins believes the variety of striking options available to Thomas Tuchel will only benefit England at the World Cup.

Though the Three Lions' captain and all-time leading scorer Harry Kane is one of the first names on the teamsheet, plenty of other forwards were competing for backup roles.

They included Brighton's Danny Welbeck and Leeds United's Dominic Calvert-Lewin, who scored 13 and 14 goals, respectively, in the Premier League in 2025-26.

Ultimately, neither man made Tuchel's 26-man group for the tournament, with Watkins selected alongside Al-Ahli's Ivan Toney.

Watkins was the leading English scorer in the Premier League this season with 16 goals, while he netted 21 times in all competitions as Aston Villa won the Europa League.

Toney, meanwhile, scored 32 goals in as many games in the Saudi Pro League, with only Julian Quinones outscoring him (33 goals) in the competition and Cristiano Ronaldo netting four goals fewer.

Watkins and Toney have vastly different styles, with the former seen as a threat in behind and the latter being more of a traditional number nine and a penalty specialist.

And when asked how that dynamic would serve England, Watkins said: "I think it's good, me and Ivan are different players, and you need that. You need to have versatility.

"At the end of the day, Ivan's a proven goalscorer, he's shown it throughout all his career. 

"Even in the last Euros, there were times when he came on when the team needed him, and then I had my moment, obviously, in the semi-final as well. I think it's amazing that we've got Ivan here as he's a clinical goalscorer."

Watkins' place in the squad was in doubt when he missed two March friendlies – versus Uruguay and Japan – due to injury, but he believes that absence allowed him to build momentum at club level and was ultimately a positive thing.

"To be fair, before the March camp, I had started to pick up form. I scored an important goal and had some big performances against Lille in the [Europa League] round of 16," Watkins said. 

"So my form was starting to pick up, and I think it was a blessing in disguise. 

"Sometimes, when something gets taken away from you, you realise how important it is, and it gives you that fire in your belly to come back and show people what you can do.

"I think everything that I had pictured and imagined is coming into play. Physically, I'm the best I've ever been, and obviously my form in front of goal is really good at the moment, so I'm feeling really strong."

England open their Group L campaign against Croatia on June 17, before taking on Ghana on June 23 and Panama on June 27.