England at World Cup 2026: Grit, but do they lack class?

England’s pursuit of the World Cup title was propelled by the exceptional brilliance of two standout players: skipper Harry Kane and Jude Bellingham.

From the Three Lions’ total of 14 goals, the duo has accounted for 12—six apiece—with Marcus Rashford and Anthony Gordon also managing to get on the scoresheet.

The manager’s plans were disrupted as Arsenal pair Declan Rice and Bukayo Saka were laid low by sickness and fitness issues, diminishing the impact of two players he was heavily relying on.

John Stones maintains his high-calibre presence but is now 32, while across the rest of the pitch, England are sturdy and dependable rather than dazzling.

The squad lacks the quality woven throughout the lineup of World Cup finalists and European title-holders Spain, or the remarkable attacking riches of France, and they do not possess the ingrained fighting spirit and sheer refusal to lose that defines Argentina, a trait bolstered by the timeless wizardry of Lionel Messi.

As a result, their tournament run has been constrained, and occasionally salvaged, by living off isolated flashes of brilliance. It has rarely been defined by a cohesive, high-level display.

When England were trailing to DR Congo in the round of 32, it was a late brace from Kane that hauled them back from the brink. When they fell behind against Norway in the quarter-final, Bellingham emerged as the rescuer with two goals.

It was in that moment the manager may have inadvertently revealed his true feelings, lavishing praise on the team’s spirit while delivering a scathing critique of their technical level.

England deserve immense praise for securing one of their most memorable World Cup victories, emerging from the intense atmosphere of the Azteca to defeat Mexico in Mexico City, but the question remains: have they truly performed well?

Only if you isolate a 30-minute spell in the second half of their opening group match, a 4-2 victory over Croatia.

The side was just a quarter of an hour from a humiliating exit against DR Congo before Kane’s intervention.

Despite the vast experience within the squad, and the presence of technical talents like Rice and Elliot Anderson in the engine room, the manager’s side struggles to dominate possession and set the rhythm and pace when facing top-tier opponents.

The coach acknowledged that keeping the ball “plays a crucial role.”

“It’s maybe not in our DNA like it is in the Spanish DNA or Argentinian or Brazilian DNA to take the ball, control the game and the ball, which is also a big problem,” he stated.

“I still think we can show how good football players we are. I think that is still in us, as I see it in training and in every camp.”

This is the fundamental reason for their repeated failures when confronted by teams they are not widely expected to overcome—and indeed when Croatia outclassed them with their passing game in the 2018 World Cup semi-final in Moscow.

England would likely bristle, with some reason, at being described as the footballing equivalent of a “flat-track bully,” yet their track record against the elite when the pressure is highest suggests a vulnerability, whether on the field or in the tactical decisions. Or perhaps both.

If a single statistic is to be used to condemn the manager’s approach and England’s inability to dictate a match they were winning, it is that they held a mere 12% of possession from the moment Anthony Gordon put them ahead in the World Cup semi-final in the 55th minute, right up to Lautaro Martinez’s stoppage-time winner for Argentina.

The manager has effectively constructed his England side based on a Premier League blueprint in both style and formation, utilising a back four, a midfield pivot of Rice and Elliot, Bellingham operating as the number 10, and two traditional wingers.

This is perfectly adequate—in the Premier League. At the highest level of a World Cup, it is evident that something more is required.

England possess power and no small amount of ability, but aside from Kane and Bellingham, they lack the other special, match-defining qualities that can tip the fine margins in their favour during crucial encounters.

The worry for the governing body is that they have now exhausted all options.

The head coach was intended to be the polar opposite of Gareth Southgate, even though Southgate had guided England to two European Championship finals and a World Cup semi-final.

The German was appointed as the top-tier tactician who would provide the decisive edge in critical moments, shedding the supposed conservative approach that had restrained England under Southgate’s leadership.

He was to be the critical factor separating a tale of near misses from a story of triumph.

Instead, with England holding a lead and seemingly in command of a World Cup semi-final, the manager executed a tactical withdrawal so severe that it would have triggered calls for Southgate’s immediate dismissal had he been in charge.