Harry Kane believes England still have “another level we can reach” despite moving to within two wins of ending their 60-year wait for World Cup glory.
The Three Lions booked their place in the semi-finals with a 2-1 extra-time win over Norway on Saturday and will now face Argentina in Atlanta on Wednesday.
England have reached the last four without producing their best football, and manager Thomas Tuchel was critical of his side’s display against Norway after describing their performance as “sloppy” and admitting they “got lucky”.
But captain Kane says the squad share their manager’s belief that there is more to come.
Tuchel was visibly frustrated after the quarter-final victory, pointing to technical errors and a lack of intensity despite England eventually getting over the line.
Kane believes those comments stem from the standards the England boss sees every day on the training pitch.
“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,” Kane said.
“He knows as much as anyone that it’s not as simple as that, we’re playing against good opposition and good teams,” he added.
“He’s trying to drag it out of us.”
England still searching for best form
Kane, who has scored six goals at the tournament and sits level with Jude Bellingham as England’s leading scorer, believes the team are still capable of improving.
“We know ourselves we have another level we can reach,” Kane said.
“We haven’t seen that yet, we’ve shown it in glimpses.
“Against Norway it was in glimpses. But we haven’t had full control that we would like and I feel we can have.”
England needed extra time to see off both DR Congo and Norway in the knockout rounds after overcoming Mexico in a dramatic last-16 encounter.
Argentina test awaits in Atlanta
England’s reward for beating Norway is a heavyweight semi-final clash with Lionel Messi’s Argentina on Wednesday night.
The reigning world champions booked their place in the last four by beating Switzerland 3-1 after extra time and will represent England’s toughest test of the tournament so far.
Kane, however, sees encouragement in the fact England have reached this stage while still feeling there is room for improvement.
“We’ll be playing against one of the best teams in the world in the semi-final,” he said.
“So the most pleasing thing is we are in a semi-final and still feel we can improve.”
