England's World Cup semifinal qualification has drawn sharp criticism from American television analysts who deemed the team's performance against Norway as "really poor." Despite securing a 2-1 extra-time victory on Saturday night, pundit Mike Grella of CBS Sports characterized England's play as unconvincing, stating the team is "not very good at football."
Grella's assessment compared England's situation to "having the world's ugliest daughter and saying, 'You're beautiful baby,'" highlighting a perceived disconnect between the team's results and its on-field execution. He pointed to issues with ball control, transitions, and excessive space left between lines, suggesting the win was achieved in spite of, rather than because of, the team's quality.
Jude Bellingham was the hero for England, scoring both goals, including the winner in extra time, to advance the team to the semifinals for the first time since 1966. However, his decisive contributions did not temper the critiques of the team's overall style of play.
Manager Thomas Tuchel echoed some of the critical sentiments, admitting he was "not happy with the performance" despite the crucial win. He described the team's play as "sloppy, a lot of technical mistakes, not fast enough, not repetitive enough," and conceded that England "were lucky today."
Despite his dissatisfaction with the execution, Tuchel praised the team's spirit and resilience in overcoming adversity. He acknowledged the players' commitment and their refusal to lose, stating that "to overcome adversity and to dig in and to find ways to win is on the absolutely highest level." He also expressed pride and a strong connection to the team due to their determination.
However, Tuchel maintained his high standards, emphasizing the need for improvement. "I think we can play faster, we can play more clinical," he said. "We had too many unforced errors and technical mistakes. We had some crucial moments where we got lucky so yeah - a lot of things to do better, which is not a problem."