England have another level we can reach - Kane

Jul 12, 2026 - 18:45
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England have another level we can reach - Kane
Thomas Tuchel and Harry Kane
England play Argentina in the World Cup semi-finals on Wednesday and if they win would meet either France or Spain in Sunday's final [Getty Images]

Captain Harry Kane has admitted England "have another level we can reach" as they bid to win the World Cup for the first time since 1966.

The Three Lions needed extra-time before beating Norway 2-1 on Saturday, with a semi-final on Wednesday in Atlanta against Argentina (20:00 BST) to come.

After the quarter-final, boss Thomas Tuchel said he was unhappy with England's performance, saying the team "got lucky", were "sloppy", made "a lot of technical mistakes" and were "not fast enough, not repetitive enough".

Kane, 32, has scored six goals in this tournament and is England's joint top goalscorer, along with Jude Bellingham.

The skipper felt Tuchel's frustrations were because the side did not replicate what they were doing in training.

"When he sees us train and sees the closeness of us and sees what we can do, especially with the players we have, the way we attack, our one-on-ones and the skills, he just wants to see that version of us," added Kane.

"He knows as much as anyone that it's not as simple as that, we're playing against good opposition and good teams.

"He's trying to drag it out of us and we know ourselves we have another level we can reach.

"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.

"We'll be playing against one of the best teams in the world in the semi-final, so the most pleasing thing is we are in a semi-final and still feel 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."

'We have to enjoy it'

While Kane was in agreement with Tuchel's comments, Bellingham - who has scored twice in England's last two matches - felt differently.

"It's difficult out there, it's a tough shift," said Bellingham after the match. "All the players have put in a tough shift. My thoughts and appreciation goes to the players out there.

"Maybe he [Tuchel] doesn't know what it's like to play in those conditions against Erling Haaland, Martin Odegaard, Antonio Nusa and Alexander Sorloth. They're not an easy team to play against. I can't speak highly enough of the lads."

After winning in 1966, England will be in the semi-finals for only the fourth time after losing at that stage to West Germany in 1990 and to Croatia in 2018.

England have also lost in the past European Championship finals - against Italy on penalties at Wembley in 2021 and then against Spain in Berlin two years ago.

"It's been an extremely successful era of our national team," added Bayern Munich striker Kane. "Of course, we want to get over the line. That is the missing piece now.

"We're knocking on the door. We're getting to these semi-finals and finals. It's a big week. We've got eight days left on this tournament.

"We've been together six weeks and shown every bit of desire for the badge and we're going to need an even bigger push now for the last week or so.

"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."

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