England captain Harry Kane has stated that the Three Lions still have room for improvement despite securing a place in the semifinals of the FIFA World Cup 2026 with a 2-1 extra-time victory over Norway in Florida.
Reflecting on the team's performance, Kane revealed that head coach Thomas Tuchel congratulated the players after the match but also stressed that England could raise their level further in the tournament.
"[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."
Tuchel admits fortune in victory
After England's win, Tuchel acknowledged that his side were fortunate to come away with a victory over Norway. "We made life very, very difficult for ourselves today. The result is fantastic - we're in the last four - but I'm not happy with the performance. We got lucky today. We need to play better. We will get better, we need to get better," Tuchel said after the match, as quoted by FIFA.
Kane praises team resilience
Kane also highlighted the team's resilience, saying England had repeatedly shown the mentality required to succeed in knockout football. "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.
England came from behind to defeat Norway 2-1 after extra time. Jude Bellingham starred with both goals, scoring a first-half stoppage-time equaliser before netting the winner in extra time to complete the comeback. Norway had taken the lead through Andreas Schjelderup, while a second-half goal from Torbjorn Heggem was ruled out following a VAR review.
Bellingham named Player of the Match
Bellingham was named Player of the Match as England advanced to face either defending champions Argentina or Switzerland in the semifinals. Goalkeeper Jordan Pickford also became England's most-capped goalkeeper in World Cup history with his 18th tournament appearance.
