England captain, Harry Kane, has admitted the Three Lions must produce a better performance when they face Argentina in the semi-finals of the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
England booked their place in the last four thanks to Jude Bellingham’s brace, which overturned Andreas Schjelderup’s early opener for Norway after the midfielder had found the net with a dipping strike.
Speaking after the victory, the Bayern Munich striker acknowledged that England have not yet reached their best level despite progressing to the semi-finals.
Kane stressed that the squad’s fighting spirit has been key throughout the tournament but insisted they need to improve their quality in possession ahead of the showdown with Argentina.
“[Tuchel] just said there in the changing room, obviously, wow, massive congratulations, and we should enjoy it and celebrate,” Kane told ITV, as quoted by The Athletic.
“But he still feels like there’s a part of him that knows we can do better, which in a way is a good thing. If we’re in a semi-final of a World Cup knowing we can still improve, still find another level, then yeah, we’ve got to take that as a positive,” he added.
“We have the most important ingredients as a team, we showed that again today. If we can just start ticking a little bit better with the ball, with possession, then yeah, we’ve got a couple of big games ahead,” Kane told ITV, as quoted by The Athletic.
Norway head coach Ståle Solbakken, meanwhile, applauded his players for their effort despite falling short against one of the tournament favourites.
“We have been playing at the highest level, and the margins were not in our favour, but that’s life, and now we need to breathe a bit,” Solbakken said, as quoted by Reuters.
“This is the way it is, this is at the top level, it can’t get any higher than this, and we had a few problems in the beginning, the first 20 minutes, but I really applaud the boys,” the 58-year-old added.
