England's current World Cup campaign is marked by a departure from its usual dramatic discourse, replaced by a narrative of resilience. This shift has been evident in their recent hard-fought victories, including an extra-time 2-1 win over Norway.
Manager Thomas Tuchel acknowledged that the team has further to develop. England has shown moments of being outplayed, notably a close call against Congo in the Round of 32 and a scoreless draw against Ghana in the group stage. However, the team has demonstrated guile, a quality that has helped alter the conversation surrounding their performance.
The team's recent performance in Miami Gardens, Florida, after a 3-2 win in Mexico City, highlighted this new characteristic. The victory against Norway, secured in extra time, underscored their ability to grind out results even when not dominating play.
Miami Gardens, Fla. — Any semblance of the usual discourse around an England team, which even in the national team’s best moments so often veers toward melodrama and has a default state of over-the-top, seems to have evaporated into the Miami heat. If that wasn’t true after England’s 3-2 win over Mexico in Mexico City’s altitude, it certainly is now, after the Three Lions gutted out an extra-time 2-1 win over Norway here Saturday night. England manager Thomas Tuchel isn’t wrong to say his team still has more to go. It was second-best for long stretches of Saturday, lucky to escape Congo in the Round of 32 and put in a terrible performance in a 0-0 draw against Ghana in the group stage. What it has, though — and what has changed the conversation around this team — is guile.