Captain Harry Kane acknowledged that England "have another level we can reach" as the team prepares for the World Cup semi-finals. England secured their spot in the semi-final after a 2-1 extra-time victory over Norway on Saturday. Their next match is scheduled for Wednesday in Atlanta against Argentina.
Following the quarter-final match, manager Thomas Tuchel voiced dissatisfaction with the team's performance, describing them as having "got lucky," been "sloppy," and made "a lot of technical mistakes," adding that they were "not fast enough, not repetitive enough." Kane, who has scored six goals in the tournament and is England's joint top scorer along with Jude Bellingham, suggested Tuchel's frustrations stemmed from the team not consistently replicating their training performances.
"When he sees us train and sees the closeness of us and sees what we can do, especially with the players we have, the way we attack, our one-on-ones and the skills, he just wants to see that version of us," Kane said. He also noted the challenges of facing strong opposition. "He knows as much as anyone that it's not as simple as that, we're playing against good opposition and good teams."
Kane reiterated his belief in the team's potential, stating, "He's trying to drag it out of us and we know ourselves we have another level we can reach. We haven't seen that yet, we've shown it in glimpses. Against Norway it was in glimpses. But we haven't had full control that we would like and I feel we can have."
The captain acknowledged the significance of facing a top team in the semi-final. "We'll be playing against one of the best teams in the world in the semi-final, so the most pleasing thing is we are in a semi-final and still feel we can improve." He concluded by stating, "But I don't think it is something to get really over the top about. We are showing a lot of good things."