England finished top of Group L after an undefeated campaign in which they collected seven points and never looked in danger of missing out on the knockouts.
It was also a start to their World Cup campaign in which assistant coach Anthony Barry repeatedly raised concerns in half-time TV interviews, and England failed to score against Ghana or in the opening 45 minutes against Panama.
So should England supporters be excited, concerned or a bit of both before the last 32 game against DR Congo?
Here, The Athletic’s Adam Crafton, Liam Tharme, Thom Harris, Oliver Kay, Nick Miller and Jack Pitt-Brooke discuss the biggest issues to solve, who has impressed, which wide forwards should start and how far Thomas Tuchel’s side will go.
What’s the biggest issue to solve?
Crafton: England’s problems in open play are as old as time, struggling to break down teams who set up to frustrate. Set pieces are one way to do that, as we saw against Panama, but early intensity gives way to anxiety, and it becomes a tough watch. The relationship between the full-backs and wingers isn’t quite right so far, partly because they just keep changing personnel.
Tharme: Tactically, it’s how they attack teams who sit off them, and personnel-wise it is who Tuchel picks at right back. Once upon a time, England almost had an entire starting XI of right-back candidates, and now they are scrambling after injury to Reece James, while versatile defender Tino Livramento was ruled out of the tournament because of a calf problem.
Harris: I have to echo both Adam and Liam and can’t help but wonder whether Tuchel can be a little more aggressive with the instructions that he gives to his full-backs against low-block sides. Nico O’Reilly was tucking into midfield for most of the game against Panama, while Jarell Quansah was practically a third centre-back as England attempted to overload and build through the centre. It leads to control, but it can also feel a little safe, so I’d like to see a few more overlapping runs and movements out wide — some risks — a little earlier on in games.
Kay: The team lacks cohesion. We can talk about issues in specific positions — right back and left wing being two obvious ones — but Thomas Tuchel spoke the other day about “units” of the team. I don’t think you can really look at many areas of the team and say they look like secure “units”. England have kept clean sheets in the last two games. That might imply that they have tightened up since conceding twice in the first half against Croatia. But to me, the defence looks vulnerable to counter-attacks. The midfield looks like it could be overrun. They lack creativity and guile. As a team, they’re not great with the ball, and they look vulnerable without it.
England have kept two clean sheets (Photo: Patrick Smith – FIFA/FIFA via Getty Images)
Miller: It’s possibly not really an issue that Tuchel can really solve in the next few days, but I think England need more from their wingers. Marcus Rashford was quite wasteful, and Bukayo Saka still doesn’t look fit enough, while Noni Madueke has flattered to deceive. The games haven’t really suited Anthony Gordon. Other than ‘play better, please, lads’, the only real thing he could do is play Morgan Rogers off the left, which would provide a bit more guile and creativity from the flank, the trade-off being that you’d lose a bit of natural width and pace.
Pitt-Brooke: Why do England keep conceding so many chances on the break? They were fortunate to get away with it against both Ghana and Panama, and under marginally different circumstances they could have been painfully punished. They clearly need Declan Rice back there, closer to his best. But there are big question marks about the defence too. Their full-backs keep getting injured, and they are down to just Djed Spence on the right and Nico O’Reilly on the left for the next game. Maybe Ezri Konsa will have to shuffle across.
Who has been most impressive?
Crafton: If there were doubts about Jude Bellingham before the tournament, they have surely been dispelled. He’s been England’s difference maker at key times and Harry Kane hasn’t been far behind. Marcus Rashford was also dangerous against Panama and Elliot Anderson has been effective. There is plenty to improve upon elsewhere.
Tharme: Anderson has really impressed me. The third midfield spot, with Declan Rice and Bellingham considered locks, was subject to a lot of debate. Only centre-backs Ezri Konsa and Marc Guehi have made more passes than Anderson this group stage, as he’s dictated play from the bottom of the midfield triangle. He adds security against long balls too, dropping off to help the back four, and his energy has brought the counter-press to life. He might just need to watch how often he plays those direct balls in-behind — Tuchel likes those and it suits England’s forwards, but it will lead to turnovers too.
Harris: Bellingham and Anderson for me too, but I’ve also enjoyed the dynamism of Rashford down the left. He scored off the bench against Croatia, and for me, wasn’t given enough time against Ghana, where his ability to whip crosses in with a little more power and dip after cutting inside can generate a little chaos in the box. His desire to run in behind and carry the ball at speed was most impressive against Panama, something that England can use to test more resolute defensive sides, as well as those who will leave spaces in behind to attack.
Bellingham has justified his place in England’s XI (Angela Weiss/AFP via Getty Images)
Kay: Bellingham’s quality has made the difference in key moments, whether it’s racing clear to score the all-important third goal against Croatia, holding off an opponent and sticking out a leg to open the scoring against Panama or his excellent work to set up the second for Kane in the second game.
But I don’t really like seeing him as one of two in midfield — and I’m not totally convinced it works with him as a No 10 behind Harry Kane. I would prefer England to play 4-3-3, so that Bellingham can drive from a little deeper without leaving Elliot Anderson and Declan Rice outnumbered in midfield.
Miller: Bellingham is probably the right answer to this question, but what’s especially impressive about Anderson is that he’s playing in a different role to the one that is about to make him the most expensive English footballer of all time. At Nottingham Forest, he was not really a No 6: he’s typically the slightly more advanced of two midfielders in a two-man central midfield, and played his best football when alongside Ibrahim Sangare. With England, he’s the deeper-lying man in the two, and against Panama, there was even more onus on him to be disciplined. That he managed it and still managed to play plenty of those fizzing forward passes is an indication of how good he already is, and can be.
Pitt-Brooke: Elliot Anderson has been clever, consistent, good at taking the ball in tight spaces and driving forwards with it. He already looks like he has been playing for England for far longer than he has. But the real star for me is Bellingham, who was electric against Croatia and then won the game almost by himself against Panama, scoring the first and setting up the second. If England are to achieve anything here, it will have to be built on his interventions.
Who should be the wide forwards?
Crafton: Rashford appears to be the more in-form and daring of the left-sided options than Anthony Gordon, so I suspect he has that wrapped up for the next game. On the right side, it really feels uncertain and open. Saka looked short of his sharpest and best form against Panama, but we know he’s a more effective and more talented player than Madueke. One other option could be Morgan Rogers playing from the right, but the fact that I’m even considering that tells you how underwhelming Saka and Madueke were against Panama. We must hope Saka is regaining full fitness and sparkles in the knockouts.
Tharme: This will depend on the opposition. Gordon and Madueke worked well in the Croatia win because England faced a high pressing opponent and wanted runners in-behind, especially with Kane’s passing range and space to play into. Rashford has looked the best against a low block, particularly with his inswinging crosses and the striker tendencies which were honed by Benni McCarthy at Manchester United. Saka still doesn’t look fully sharp at right wing. Tuchel should consider using Gordon there — he’s done it for Newcastle and it would give England a natural crosser against low blocks. Then there’s the potential to use Morgan Rogers in a false winger role as an extra No 10, something which Unai Emery has built his Aston Villa team around, and it would mean he and Bellingham can play together, albeit at the expense of width.
Harris: I’m personally willing to give Saka another chance on the right. He has looked a little off it but there is always potential that he can strike from the edge of the box or conjure up a teasing cross — come up with that defence-splitting moment much like Bellingham and Kane have in recent games. Madueke is exciting with his ability to beat a defender one-vs-one, but I like that as a profile to bring on later in the second half. Rashford has done enough to retain his place on the opposite side for me.
Rashford did well on his first start at this World Cup (Photo: Katelyn Mulcahy/Getty Images for Rexona)
Kay: In theory, it’s Bukayo Saka plus one. But is Saka fit enough to justify that billing? Did he play well enough last season (or even the season before) to justify the confidence that he’s going to light up this World Cup? I think you probably start with Saka and hope that by Friday, he’s raring to go. But it’s a while since we’ve seen him in full flow. I don’t subscribe to this view that the only way for England to play is with a couple of speed merchants alongside Kane. Personally, I like the option of Morgan Rogers on the left. But in the present circumstances, I would say it makes sense to stick with Rashford after a positive performance against Panama.
Miller: As mentioned earlier, I’d like to see Rogers get a game on the left, and Madueke hasn’t offered enough to persuade that he’s a better option than even a not-quite-fit Saka. Really, though, it’s probably less about the personnel and more about hoping that whoever is picked there just plays a bit better than they have been.
Pitt-Brooke: Marcus Rashford played his way into my England team against Panama. The execution is not always perfect, but he was fast, direct, always driving forward with the ball and willing to get shots away. I just think he is more dangerous than Anthony Gordon and better at hurting teams. On the other side, I don’t think Bukayo Saka did enough to convince that he is fully over his Achilles problems. He did not look at his fluent best and struggled to beat his man. So I would probably go back to Noni Madueke on the right, who is a good outlet even if he needs to improve his productivity.
How far will they go?
Crafton: England need some of their best players to find form and fitness, mainly Saka and Declan Rice, but even then, there are gaps defensively that the very best teams could exploit. I struggle to see England winning the tournament unless they improve vastly in several facets of their game, but I could also foresee potential opponents in the round of 16 — Mexico or Ecuador — causing England some real problems.
Tharme: The good news is that Germany, France, Spain, the Netherlands and the U.S. are all confirmed on the other side of the knockout bracket. Mexico or Ecuador would both provide stubborn tests in the round of 16, the former as a physiological test at altitude and with home advantage at the Azteca, and the latter for their defensive strengths. But as routes to the final go, Brazil in the quarter-finals feels like a repeat of the France quarter-final match-up from 2022, when England came oh-so-close. And the winner of that likely plays Argentina for a spot in the final. It means a lot of South American tests for England, and I back them over Brazil. Semi-finals and a date with destiny against the two Lionels — Messi and Scaloni.
Harris: I’ll be optimistic. Though the Ghana and Panama performances were a little flat, there are players in this England side who can keep you in games with their athleticism, and others who can win them with moments of inspiration. I still think about that France defeat that Liam mentions at the last World Cup — an excellent long-range strike and a missed penalty were the difference. England shouldn’t be blown away by the biggest sides in the knockout stage, and as long as they are within touching distance, they have it in them to get to the last four and do who knows what from there.
Will England get past Yoane Wissa and DR Congo? (Photo: Molly Darlington/Getty Images)
Kay: Sometimes you can look at England and say, with a mixture of confidence and resignation, that they’ll be fine until they run into one of the favourites, which is usually at the quarter-final stage. In recent years, under Gareth Southgate, they usually proved better than that. But this England team is harder to judge. It doesn’t look fully formed yet. They have enough individual talent to go a long way, but they also have enough flaws for me to be susceptible to slip-ups. The knockout bracket looks a little less daunting than it would have done if they had finished second in the group, but there is no certainty whatsoever that they will beat DR Congo or, beyond that, Mexico on their home turf or Ecuador. For better or worse, they don’t look like a team you can be certain about.
Miller: They’re on the right side of the draw, and should make reasonably short work of DR Congo and should also be favourites against Mexico, assuming they beat Ecuador, with the significant caveats that they will face the co-hosts in their own stadium and in the heat. After that, we’re into big boy territory, and while this might not be regarded as a vintage set of Brazilian players, I suspect Carlo Ancelotti’s side will do for England in the quarter-finals in the heat of Miami.
Pitt-Brooke: The draw is not too harsh, but I am worried about Ecuador in the last 16. They can play with such physical intensity and courage that I think they could cause England real problems. I certainly think they will knock out Mexico in the last 32. That all said, I expect England to scrape past them, largely because I’m not sure Ecuador have the final-third quality to punish England. But Brazil will be a lot less forgiving when faced with an England defence that looked leaky against Ghana and Panama. I think that encounter with Vinicius Junior and co will probably be the end of this.
