Harry Kane makes honest confession about England after reaching World Cup semi-final
England reached their fourth ever World Cup semi final after beating Norway, with Argentina now standing in the way of the Three Lions making the final for the first time since 1966
Harry Kane admits England have only shown their best “in glimpses” during this World Cup.
It took another Jude Bellingham masterclass in an extra time epic against Norway for England to book their place in the semi final against Argentina in Atlanta on Wednesday.
FIFA set up the tennis-style ranking to keep the four top seeds apart and it has worked because England just about got there with France and Spain already in the other tie.
But it is clear that England will need to improve if they want to realise the dream of winning their first World Cup in 1966.
They have a world class striker and leader in Kane while Bellingham has been their standout player in this tournament and both now have six goals each.
Incredibly, Marcus Rashford is their only other goalscorer in this tournament but it still took a heroic effort to get past Norway in the searing heat in Miami.
They will have the luxury of an air-conditioned stadium in Atlanta with a roof as they look to overcoming old rivals Argentina to reach the final in New Jersey next Sunday.
But Kane says they can find another level and go all the way as he also toasted another huge effort from his teammates.
When asked whether England have been at their best yet, Kane said: “We haven’t seen that yet, we’ve shown it in glimpses. Against Norway it was in glimpses.
“But we haven’t had full control that we would like and I feel we can have. But at this stage of the tournament you are playing against the best teams in the world.
“We’ll be playing against one of the best teams in the world in the semi-final, so the most pleasing thing is that we are in a semi-final and we can still feel like we can improve. But I don’t think it is something to get really over the top about.
“We are showing a lot of good things and the way the boys defended as a team against Norway and the way we attacked, we still had some really good moments and Jude stepped up for us with another couple of goals. Overall we can be really pleased we are in the semi-finals.
“I know this is going to be a topic from now until the next game and we know we can improve and we know we can play better. But ultimately we are in a semi-final of the World Cup and that has not always been the case for this national team so we have to enjoy it.
"We need to take that in. We still showed a lot of great things. Things you need to be a successful team with our desire and determination, the way everybody puts their bodies on the line for the nation.
“And it was tough out there against Norway with the heat and humidity. It was tough to play. We can play better on the ball. We know that for sure.
“But right now we want to enjoy this. The preparation will come for the next game and we will try to improve with the ball as much as possible.”
Kane is right to remind everyone to savour the moment. Since winning the World Cup in 1966, this will be only their third semi final as they lost in 1990 and also in 2018 against Croatia.
Now they have a manager with a winning mentality in Thomas Tuchel who also boasts a superb record in knockout football. They also have one of the best players in the tournament in Jude Bellingham.
When Andreas Schjelderup put Norway ahead, England were struggling. But then Bellingham stepped up with a stunning goal before half time. Then it was Bellingham summoning up all his energy to follow in and score when the Norway keeper spilled Morgan Roger’s shot.
But it was not just about the starters. Declan Rice went off ill at half time. He had been in bed for much of the week. Noni Madueke was poor again. Bukayo Saka came on and made a difference. Eberechi Eze was positive.
Djed Spence was fantastic as a substitute. Dan Burn was heroic. John Stones and Marc Guehi did a great job on nullifying Erling Haaland. And that was Kane’s other point: they will all need to be heroes from now on. Especially when extra time in extreme heat sapped their energy.
Kane added: “That is when you need the squad the most. Sometimes it is easy to think you have a set team for this stage of the tournament but it is never case. You have suspensions and injuries and hidden fatigue, and that is when you need the players the most.
“The guys who maybe haven’t got the minutes they would have liked, this is when they need to step up in these moments. The guys that came on were outstanding.
“Djed was outstanding and really made a difference there against a tricky winger and it will be no different on Wednesday. Whoever starts will put in a shift and whoever comes on will try to change the game for us.
“And that is what being a squad is so we showed we are together and have a lot of good things. Let’s just enjoy this, recover well and go again on Wednesday.”
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