England beat Norway to reach the World Cup semi-finals for the fourth time in history, but Argentina stands in the way of the Three Lions reaching their first final since 1966.
England captain Harry Kane
Harry Kane admitted England were at their best for “only a few moments” this World Cup.
Jude Bellingham produced another masterclass in extra-time against Norway to ensure England qualify for Wednesday’s semi-final against Argentina in Atlanta.
FIFA set up a tennis-style ranking to separate the top four seeds, and it paid off as England came close to reaching that spot with France and Spain already tied.
But it is clear that England need to improve if they want to realize their dream of winning their first World Cup in 1966.
They have a world-class striker and leader in Kane, and Bellingham has been the standout player in this competition, with both of them currently scoring six goals.
Incredibly, Marcus Rashford was the only player to score in the competition, but it still took a heroic effort to defeat Norway in the scorching heat of Miami.
They will enjoy the luxury of a covered, air-conditioned stadium in Atlanta as they aim to defeat arch-rival Argentina and advance to next Sunday’s final in New Jersey.
But Kane said he can find the next level and go all the way, toasting the extra hard work of his teammates.
Asked if England were at their best yet, Kane said: “We haven’t seen it yet, but we’ve shown glimpses of it. We saw a glimpse of it against Norway.”
“But we still don’t have the full control we would like and feel we can have. But at this stage of the tournament we are playing against the best teams in the world.
Kane leads Three Lions to another major tournament semi-final
“We will be playing one of the best teams in the world in the semi-finals, so the best thing is to get to the semi-finals and feel like we can still improve. But I don’t think that’s too much of an exaggeration.”
“We’re showing a lot of good things and we still had some really good moments, like the way the players defended as a team against Norway and the way we attacked, and Jude stepped up for us with a few more goals. Overall we can be really happy to have made it to the semi-finals.”
“We know this will be the theme from now until the next game and we know we can improve and we can play better. But at the end of the day we are in the semi-finals of the World Cup and that is not always the case for this national team so we have to enjoy it.”
“We need to embrace that. We still showed a lot of great things. Our desire and determination and the way we all put our bodies on the line for our country is what it takes to be a successful team.”
“And it was tough against Norway with the heat and humidity. It was tough to play. We can play better when we have the ball. We know that for sure.”
“But for now I want to enjoy the situation. I will be ready for the next game and will try to improve my use of the ball as much as possible.”
Kane was right to remind everyone to savor the moment. This will be their third semi-final since they won the World Cup in 1966, having lost against Croatia in 1990 and 2018.
They currently have a manager with a winning mentality in Thomas Tuchel, who also boasts an impressive record in knockout football. They also have one of the best players in the tournament in Jude Bellingham.
England were struggling when Andreas Schjelderup put Norway ahead. But Bellingham stepped up with a great goal before halftime. And when the Norwegian keeper spilled Morgan Rodger’s shot, Bellingham did everything in his power to chase and score.
But it wasn’t just a problem with the starting players. Declan Rice was taken off sick at half-time. He spent most of the week in bed. Noni Madueke is poor again. Bukayo Saka came on and made a difference. Eberechi Eze tested positive.
Jed Spence was great as a substitute. Dan Byrne was heroic. John Stones and Mark Guehi did a great job of neutralizing Erling Haaland. That was another of Kane’s points. From now on, they all need to be heroes. Especially if you spend a long time in the intense heat, your physical strength will be exhausted.
Kane added: “That’s when you need the team the most. Sometimes it’s easy to think the squad is set for this stage of the tournament, but that’s never the case. When there’s suspension, injury or hidden fatigue, that’s when you need the players the most.”
“It’s time for the players who haven’t maybe gotten the minutes they would like to step up to step up. The players who have played have been outstanding.
“Jed has been outstanding and made the difference in games against tricky wingers and Wednesday will be no different. Whoever starts will shift and whoever starts will try to change the game for us.”
“And that’s what being a team is about, so we stayed together and showed that there are a lot of good things. Let’s enjoy this, recover well and go again Wednesday.”
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