England manager Thomas Tuchel has called on his squad to deliver crucial moments in the World Cup knockout stages, warning against over-reliance on star forwards Harry Kane and Jude Bellingham. The duo has been instrumental in England's progression, scoring five of the team's six goals during the group stage.
Bellingham opened the scoring in the recent 2-0 victory over Panama, and he later assisted Kane for the second goal. However, Tuchel expressed concern that this dependence could hinder the team's performance if Kane and Bellingham are unable to produce, citing the goalless draw with Ghana as an example of the team suffering when offensive output is limited.
As England prepares to face DR Congo in the last 32, Tuchel stated his conviction that other players will step up. "On a certain level, we want these guys in a key moment to show up. Harry did it. Jude did it," Tuchel said. He also pointed to Nico O’Reilly's near-miss against Ghana and expressed confidence that Morgan Rogers, Anthony Gordon, Noni Madueke, and Bukayo Saka are capable of making significant contributions.
Tuchel also highlighted the importance of the wider attacking unit in creating opportunities, particularly for Bellingham. "If you look carefully, sometimes it's just a run from someone else to open the space up for Jude so that he can shine," he explained. "They work in units. Nico O’Reilly took an opponent out to create space for Jude in the first half."
The manager stressed the need for structured attacking play rather than individual improvisation. "We have to work in patterns to have a higher amount of attacking threat. If we all just play freestyle, no one knows what the other one is thinking. Jude is a part of it. We want to be consistently finding players in these spaces, and then they should take advantage with their quality. That is what we need and what we demand."
Tuchel faces selection decisions for the match against DR Congo, particularly regarding Bellingham's position. With Declan Rice having been rested and moving to a No. 8 role against Panama, Bellingham could revert to a No. 10 position if Rice returns to his midfield anchor role in Atlanta. Jarrell Quansah (ankle) and Reece James (hamstring) are listed as doubtful.
Bellingham's emergence as a key player was not a certainty entering the tournament, and Tuchel's management of the Real Madrid star has been a significant achievement. "This is what we want from Jude. He was very positive from the first day in camp. He buys fully into all the things we demand as a team player, and then he brings his own individual quality to decide football games," Tuchel commented. "That’s what you see in World Cups now, and what you see from other teams and other big players. We have it in him and he’s a key player. He buys fully into all the things we demand of him as a team player. So well done until now. He needs to keep going."