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.