Thomas Tuchel and Harry Kane are saying the same thing about England’s route into the semi-final against Argentina. Tuchel’s line is blunt, Kane’s is more guarded, and both point to Harry Kane and Jude Bellingham as the players who can decide games while England still look for more control.

Tuchel’s formula for England

“If we are talking about a formula, it's pretty simple: Put Harry and Jude together, they will do the rest,” Tuchel told mirror.co.uk. He added that they “love the responsibility” and “show up in decisive moments”. That is not a bad summary of how England have got this far.

England beat Norway after extra time to reach the World Cup semi-final, and Bellingham scored a brace. Kane summed up the attacking balance neatly afterwards: “It wasn't our prettiest performance, we know, but we're into a semi-final of a World Cup.”

The scoring load is heavily concentrated. Kane and Bellingham have scored all but one of England’s World Cup goals in the tournament, and Marcus Rashford is the only other England player in the sample to score, with one. Kane has 6 goals in his last five World Cup matches, and Bellingham has 6 as well.

England's ceiling before Argentina

Kane’s own framing is less absolute than Tuchel’s. “We know we can improve and we know we can play better,” he told standard.co.uk. “We know, ourselves, we have another level that we can reach.” He also said England have shown that level only “in glimpses” and have not yet had “full control”.

That is the useful part of the story. England are not being sold as a finished side, even after the win over Norway. They are in a fourth semi-final in the last five major tournaments, but the attack still looks reliant on its two most decisive players.

Kane’s recent output backs the confidence. His average rating across his last five World Cup matches is 7.53, while Bellingham’s is 8.34. Those figures do not settle the argument about England’s overall performance, but they do show why Tuchel keeps coming back to the same pair.

The public case is split between England’s attacking formula and their unfinished level, and the evidence points to both. Tuchel has a simple answer for Argentina, Kane has the warning label attached, and the semi-final will show whether the pair can carry England one step further.

Written by Jack Mercer with AI-assisted research, cross-checked against 2 outlets. How we work →