Harry Kane knows what people are saying about England at this World Cup. The performances haven’t been flawless. The head coach called the last outing sloppy. But Kane’s message is simple: they’re still standing, and they can get better.
Speaking ahead of Wednesday’s World Cup semifinal against Argentina, the England captain pushed back on the idea that this team has peaked too early. If anything, Kane suggested they haven’t peaked at all.
“We know we can improve and we know we can play better,” the Bayern Munich striker said. “But ultimately we are in a semifinal of the World Cup and that has not always been the case for this national team, so we have to enjoy it.”
England reached the last four after Jude Bellingham scored twice in extra time to beat Norway in Miami. Thomas Tuchel, England’s manager, wasn’t thrilled with parts of that performance. He described it as sloppy. Kane didn’t disagree. He just framed it differently.
“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,” Kane said. “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 that we can reach.”
Kane was asked point-blank whether England has actually reached that other level during the tournament so far. His answer was honest.
“We haven’t seen that yet, we’ve shown it in glimpses,” he said. “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 semifinal, so the most pleasing thing is that we are in a semifinal and we can still feel like we can improve.”
This is England’s fourth semifinal in the last five major tournaments. That kind of consistency is rare in international soccer. But it also creates pressure. The expectation now isn’t just to show up in the final four. It’s to win the whole thing.
Kane isn’t panicking. He pointed to the defensive effort against Norway, the way the team attacked in stretches, and Bellingham stepping up again with a couple of goals. “Overall, we can be really pleased,” he said.
They’ll need to be more than pleased against an Argentina side that has looked sharp all tournament. But if England has another gear, the semifinal is the time to find it. Kane seems confident they will.
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