A reality check on the England World Cup campaign | OneFootball

Everyone was on the edge of their seats as England’s match against Mexico went right down to the wire. It seemed like the victory had already been secured, but Jarell Quansah’s red card changed everything.

The supporters who stayed up for the game, which kicked off at 2am UK time, experienced the full spectrum of emotions, due to the closeness of the encounter. However, in the end it was an impressive win for the Three Lions.

In fact, some fans have since stated that it is the greatest performance they have witnessed from their national team, due to the resilience shown. After all, despite being reduced to 10 men, and playing in a hostile environment, Thomas Tuchel’s team got the job done.

But in the grand scheme of things, England still made errors which could cost them dearly against a stronger opponent – from Quansah’s wild sliding tackle, to Harry Kane’s foul inside the box. Therefore, maybe the country’s fanbase needs to calm down a bit, considering the “This is our year” comments have already begun.

England have only done what is expected

There are no intentions here to rain on England’s parade, but their World Cup campaign so far has been nothing out of the ordinary. In fact, it was feeling rather underwhelming ahead of the win over Mexico.

Beating Croatia 4-2 provided a lot of optimism. It seemed like Tuchel had finally got his team playing proper attacking football, after some lackluster performances in the UEFA Nations League and international friendlies. 

However, this was followed up with a draw against Ghana, in a match England could well have lost if the referee and VAR got their eyes tested. Then came an uninspiring triumph over Panama, before a scare provided by DR Congo.

Ultimately, the Three Lions may be in winning form, but their performances have not been that special overall. In summary, England are beating teams they should be beating, but not very convincingly.

What we have seen from the 1966 World Cup winners is not dissimilar from any other recent tournament, when Gareth Southgate was in charge. They are clearly one of the best sides around, but there are still two or three other nations who look stronger.

It was Italy at Euro 2020. Two years ago it was Spain. And right now it feels like there is at least one team who will simply be too much for England to handle.

Problems all round

Spirits are understandably high in England’s camp, and rightly so. It took a lot of hard work and determination to overcome Mexico. Although in fairness, they caused their own problems in that match with some careless challenges. 

Yet even after defeating the World Cup co-hosts, there are clearly some issues with the way some players are performing. If this were not the case, Tuchel would not be making changes after each game.

The defense ought to be Tuchel’s primary concern right now. Most of the goals England have conceded this tournament have been the result of their own sloppiness, rather than the brilliance of their opponents.

Djed Spence did not have his best game when he started at right-back, and Quansah’s time in the position was even worse. Moving more centrally, Ezri Konsa has made a number of mistakes already. In fact, it was the Aston Villa man who gave the ball straight to Julian Quinones immediately before he scored for Mexico, after a poor attempt at a clearance.

Even Nico O’Reilly has struggled a bit at left-back, despite having a fine season with Manchester City. And there are causes for concern higher up the pitch too, as without Jude Bellingham and Harry Kane, England would not even have made it this far.

Bukayo Saka registered a brilliant assist against Mexico, but on the whole he has not been at his best during the World Cup. Similarly, Anthony Gordon played a key role in taking down DR Congo, but he has struggled outside of that individual fixture. And neither Marcus Rashford nor Noni Madueke have been consistent either.

Are England in trouble?

With Norway up next, England will fancy their chances. Erling Haaland and his teammates have done well to get this far, and they will not make it easy. However, this feels like another one of those matches where the Three Lions might just edge it by a single goal.

Eventually though, England’s standard will need to rise, because a win against Norway would likely see them meet Argentina in the semi-finals. And if that match ended in a victory, facing France’s deadly frontline is a possibility. Alternatively, Spain could go all the way, setting up a rematch of the Euro 2024 final.

Whatever the case, the English are eventually going to come up against a team who are significantly better than anyone they have faced up to this point. Therefore, suggesting that “it’s coming home” at this point in time is naive.

England have been good – nothing more, nothing less. Do they have what it takes to beat Norway? Possibly. Certainly on paper, it is a game Tuchel’s players should be winning. But there have been too many errors on display, which could prove more costly against one of the best teams in the world.

On the whole, England have earned the right to celebrate, but teams such as France just look stronger across all departments. Getting the better of Mexico is one thing, but there is next to no chance they will win the World Cup unless they become more stable at the back, and more consistent in attack.