Jude Bellingham high but not top of World Cup semi-finalist over-reliance ranking | OneFootball

England have reached the World Cup semi-finals with just two players responsible for scoring all but one of their goals so far.

It was the Jude Bellingham show in the quarter-final win over Norway as the midfielder scored a brace to draw level with Harry Kane on six goals for the tournament.

Marcus Rashford has been the only other player to score for England at this World Cup – and that was back in the first group game against Croatia.

It begs the question: are England too reliant on Bellingham and Kane?

We’ve crunched the numbers to find out which of the four semi-finalists are most over-reliant on certain individuals.

Here are the five players to have been involved – via scoring or making assists – in the highest proportion of their teams’ goals so far among the four remaining nations.

5. Mikel Oyarzabal (Spain): 45.5%

Spain goals: 11

Scored by Oyarzabal: 4

Assisted by Oyarzabal: 1

If you’d been asked before the World Cup, most of us would have expected Spain to be relying most heavily on Lamine Yamal.

But it’s been just the one goal and no assists so far for Barcelona’s prodigious talent. Even Mikel Merino has just overtaken him for contributions at this World Cup.

Instead, chief among Spain’s threats in attack has been Mikel Oyarzabal.

Fresh from his highest-scoring La Liga season to date with Real Sociedad, the winger-turned-striker has flickered between the anonymous and the impactful while leading the line for Spain this summer.

Starting all six of Spain’s games so far, Oyarzabal scored a brace against Saudi Arabia in the group stage and then another double against Austria in the round of 32.

He has otherwise drawn blanks – most notably against Cape Verde – but the assist he got against Saudi Arabia means that, on the whole, Oyarzabal has played a part in almost half of Spain’s goals.

But Luis de la Fuente’s side are the lowest scorers of the four semi-finalists so far and six players in the tournament have scored more goals than Oyarzabal.

=3. Harry Kane (England): 53.8%

England goals: 13

Scored by Kane: 6

Assisted by Kane: 1

Kane has carried his country at the World Cup before and has been equally important as Bellingham this time around, with both boasting six goals and one assist so far.

Kane has earned more gametime than Bellingham, so has a slightly inferior minutes-per-goal ratio, but there’s little to separate them in the stats that matter.

In England’s opening group game against Croatia, Kane got up and running with a brace. Nobody at all scored in England’s next game against Ghana, but Kane found the net in the following three games.

A brace against DR Congo was sandwiched between goals against Panama and Mexico, with the Bayern Munich striker also getting an assist against the latter.

Kane was quieter in the quarter-final against Norway as Bellingham took centre stage, but he remains one of the major contenders for the golden boot.

=3. Jude Bellingham (England): 53.8%

England goals: 13

Scored by Bellingham: 6

Assisted by Bellingham: 1

Bellingham’s brace against Norway made him Kane’s equal in terms of goal contributions for England in this World Cup campaign.

It was the midfielder’s second consecutive brace after his Mexico heroics, having previously scored once each against Croatia and Panama in the group.

Bellingham’s assist also came in the Panama game, meaning he had played a role in both goals of the 2-0 win.

The 23-year-old now has as many World Cup goals to his name this summer as he did La Liga goals for Real Madrid in the 2025-26 season.

2. Lionel Messi (Argentina): 58.8%

Argentina goals: 17

Scored by Messi: 8

Assisted by Messi: 2

Four years ago, the World Cup was one of the few things Lionel Messi still had to tick off in his otherwise illustrious career.

And so, when the 2022 tournament in Qatar came around, it really felt like his Argentina teammates were pushing to help him win it. And they did.

This time around, it feels like Messi is returning the favour, personally pushing Argentina towards the prospect of glory again.

That isn’t to discredit his influence in their 2022 success. He was great at the last World Cup as well, but something about this current run feels different.

Even at the age of 39, Messi is still transcendent compared to those around him. He’s used to it at club level with Inter Miami and it remains the case for Argentina.

With eight goals to his name at this World Cup, Messi has become the competition’s all-time top scorer. Another two assists mean he’s on double figures for goal contributions.

Argentina have a decent amount of quality without Messi, which they’ll need to lean on in the years to come when he walks away.

But their number 10 is still the one who makes them tick and the main threat to England’s chances of reaching the final as he aims to captain his side to a second successive title.

1. Kylian Mbappe (France): 68.8%

France goals: 16

Scored by Mbappe: 8

Assisted by Mbappe: 3

Kylian Mbappe lives for the World Cup. He won it as a teenager in 2018, scored a hat-trick as a losing finalist in 2022 and, were it not for Messi, would have become its best ever scorer in 2026.

France’s strength in depth is ludicrous, especially in attack. If we’d extended this ranking to a top 10, Ousmane Dembele would have sat sixth on 43.8% with his seven goal contributions, Michael Olise would have been seventh on 31.3% thanks to his five assists, and Bradley Barcola would have been 10th on 18.8% with three goal contributions.

But Mbappe is by far and away the leader and France’s focal point. With eight goals and three assists so far, he’s directly contributed to all but five of France’s goals.

Spain are up next for Mbappe, giving him the chance to win over any doubters who’ve seen him fail to win a major trophy from two seasons with Real Madrid.

The World Cup is where he comes into his own and, even with all the talent around him, everything flows through him for France.