Harry Kane has insisted England possess another level they are yet to reach, offering a measured defence of manager Thomas Tuchel after the boss aired sharp criticism of the team's display in their 2-1 extra-time quarter-final victory over Norway on Saturday.

Tuchel made no secret of his dissatisfaction after the win, describing England as "sloppy" and suggesting they "got lucky," while pointing to a high volume of technical errors and a lack of intensity. Kane, however, framed those comments as a sign of the manager's belief in what the squad can deliver.

"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," said the England captain. "He's trying to drag it out of us and we know ourselves we have another level we can reach."

Kane, 32, admitted England have produced only glimpses of their best football at this tournament. "We haven't had full control that we would like and I feel we can have," he added, with a semi-final against Argentina in Atlanta on Wednesday (20:00 BST) looming large.

Bellingham pushes back

Not every England player aligned with Tuchel's assessment. Jude Bellingham, who has scored twice in England's last two matches — and shares the team's joint top-scorer honours with Kane on six goals apiece — offered a more pointed response.

"It's difficult out there, it's a tough shift," said Bellingham. "Maybe he doesn't know what it's like to play in those conditions against Erling Haaland, Martin Odegaard, Antonio Nusa, and Alexander Sorloth. They're not an easy team to play against. I can't speak highly enough of the lads."

England's history at this stage

England are in the World Cup semi-finals for only the fourth time, having previously been eliminated at this stage by West Germany in 1990 and Croatia in 2018. They have also suffered painful recent finals defeats — against Italy on penalties in 2021 and against Spain in Berlin two years later.

Kane, who plays his club football for Bayern Munich, acknowledged the weight of that history but struck a positive tone. "It's been an extremely successful era of our national team. Of course, we want to get over the line — that is the missing piece now," he said.

"We're knocking on the door. We're getting to these semi-finals and finals. We've been together six weeks and shown every bit of desire for the badge, and we're going to need an even bigger push now for the last week or so."

"Ultimately we are in a semi-final of the World Cup and that has not always been the case for this national team, so we have to enjoy it."