England is headed to the World Cup semifinals, and somehow only three players have scored for them. With Marcus Rashford’s lone goal coming back in the first group game against Croatia, that leaves Jude Bellingham and Harry Kane carrying basically the entire attacking load. Six goals each, one assist each. That’s 11 of England’s 13 goals accounted for by two guys.
It raises a pretty obvious question: How much can you lean on two players before it breaks?
We ran the numbers on all four semifinalists. Here’s how the over-reliance shakes out.
Mikel Oyarzabal Is Carrying Spain Whether You Noticed or Not
Spain has scored 11 goals so far. Oyarzabal has four of them and added one assist. That puts his fingerprints on nearly half their offense. Nobody saw that coming. Lamine Yamal was supposed to be the guy, but he’s got one goal and zero assists. Even Mikel Merino has more contributions.
Oyarzabal had his highest-scoring La Liga season with Real Sociedad and has carried that form into the tournament. He bagged braces against Saudi Arabia and Austria. He went silent against Cape Verde, though. That inconsistency is why Spain’s attack feels fragile even when they dominate possession. Six different players have more goals than him in this World Cup. He’s the leading man on a team that doesn’t score a ton.
Harry Kane and Jude Bellingham: A Two-Man Team
Kane has done this before. Carried England’s World Cup hopes on his back, I mean. This time Bellingham is right there with him. Kane scored braces against Croatia and DR Congo, plus goals against Panama and Mexico. Bellingham matched him with a brace against Norway after doing the same against Mexico. He also scored against Croatia and Panama.
Their minutes are a little different. Kane has played more, so his goal-per-minute rate is slightly worse. But practically speaking, there’s no daylight between them. And that’s the problem. Rashford’s goal against Croatia feels like it happened in a different tournament. Nobody else has stepped up. Not even close.
England’s depth in the squad is solid on paper. On the field, it’s vanished.
Messi Still Runs Argentina at 39
Argentina has scored 17 goals. Messi has eight of them and two assists. That’s 10 goal contributions for a guy who’s almost 40. Four years ago, his teammates seemed to be pushing to win it for him. This time it feels like he’s dragging them forward himself.
He became the World Cup’s all-time leading scorer during this run. He’s still the guy who makes everything work. Argentina has quality without him, sure, but the drop-off is real. He’s the main reason they’ve got a shot at back-to-back titles.
Mbappe Is France’s Whole Offense and That’s Saying Something
France has scored 16 goals. Mbappe has eight and three assists. He’s been involved in all but five of them. And that’s a France team loaded with talent. Ousmane Dembele has seven goal contributions. Michael Olise has five assists. Bradley Barcola has chipped in. But Mbappe is miles ahead of everyone.
He won a World Cup as a teenager. He scored a hat trick in the final four years ago. Now he’s carrying a team that has more weapons than anyone and still funnels everything through him. Spain is next. If he gets past them, he’s one game away from another shot at glory.
The question for England is simple: Can Bellingham and Kane hold up for two more games? Because nobody else has shown they can help.
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