# Effort, spirit and moments – but do England lack all-round quality?

- URL: https://talkfuse.com/story/effort-spirit-and-moments-but-do-england-lack-all-round-quality/
- Published: 2026-07-17T05:32:35+00:00
- Updated: 2026-07-24T08:14:16+00:00
- Original publisher: BBC Sport (publisher lean: Centre)
- Original article: https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/articles/cz64xyn4vz2o?at_medium=RSS&at_campaign=rss
- Topics: Sport, UK, World

## Key points

- England’s resilience could not prevent another painful tournament near miss.
- Kane and Bellingham supplied 12 of England’s 14 goals.
- Tuchel questions England’s ability to control major matches.

## Summary

England’s World Cup semi-final defeat by Argentina has renewed doubts over whether resilience and individual brilliance are enough to make the team genuine tournament winners. Thomas Tuchel praised England’s mentality after their quarter-final victory over Norway, but questioned their ability to control matches, and the late collapse against Argentina left them without a first men’s World Cup final appearance since 1966.

Harry Kane and Jude Bellingham have carried much of England’s attacking threat, scoring 12 of the side’s 14 tournament goals between them. Injuries and illness affecting Declan Rice and Bukayo Saka weakened Tuchel’s options, while England repeatedly relied on decisive moments: Kane’s late goals rescued them against DR Congo and Bellingham scored twice against Norway. The article argues that, unlike Spain, France or Argentina, England lack elite quality throughout the team and have rarely produced consistently strong performances.

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Summarised by TalkFuse (https://talkfuse.com/). Quote the original publisher for the reporting and link this page for the summary and discussion.