Carragher: Kane's limited touches expose tactical problem; England fans must be realistic

On June 28, Jamie Carragher wrote in his column for The Telegraph that England's performances at the FIFA World Cup so far have been underwhelming, with the team still heavily reliant on Kane and Bellingham.

The following is the content of the column:

When Tuchel took over England, he knew he was fortunate to have two world-class players. But he could not be certain that he could build a truly great England team. Now, as the FIFA World Cup enters the knockout stage, that uncertainty remains. Kane and Bellingham have once again shown why they play for two of the world's biggest clubs. They were England's primary source of hope before arriving in the United States for this tournament, and how far England progress will largely depend on their form.

Kane and Bellingham have stepped up in the most pressure-filled moments, delivering when it matters most. So far, five of England's six goals in this World Cup have come directly from their contributions. Kane continues to set new records with every goal he scores. His 70th goal for England also made him the country's all-time leading scorer at the World Cup finals.

However, as Kane and Bellingham led the team to victory over Panama and reflected on the first three matches, I wondered whether they privately felt that, with a more rational team system, they could contribute even more. While relieved by their crucial performances, I suspect they would be disappointed with many aspects of how the team operated.

Kane in particular.

Over the years, I have heard it countless times: "Kane drops too deep and it hurts the team." This is an oversimplification. Kane has played this way for years; it is nothing new. The real issue is not Kane dropping outside the box to receive the ball. The real question is how his teammates should operate around him while he continues to play this way.

Kane drops deep for several reasons. First, as he has aged, his pace has diminished, forcing him to adapt rather than spend the entire game staying behind defenders and waiting for chances. He is one of football’s smartest players, with an instinctive understanding of where to position himself. Second, he is one of England’s best passers—capable of playing defense-splitting through balls as well as finishing attacks.

The real tactical problem is this: when too many players in the starting lineup occupy the "between the lines" area where Kane operates, it becomes overcrowded. The result is a congested area in front of the box, with too few players attacking the space behind the defense. Southgate faced this problem in the last major tournament, and it has persisted under Tuchel. Against Panama, Kane had only one touch in the box and just 10 touches outside it. Against Ghana, he managed only 20 touches in the entire match. This severely limits a versatile central forward and England's most lethal weapon. Tuchel must reconsider his approach before facing stronger opponents.

Last night's match highlighted a clear problem: deploying two advanced midfielders meant that both Bukayo Saka and Bellingham frequently moved into Kane's operating area to receive the ball, with Nico O'Reilly sometimes doing the same. In the first two matches, Rice often played in a similar way. One solution, once Rice returns, would be to pair him with Elliot Anderson in a deeper-lying defensive double pivot.

Anderson's performance against Panama exposed many problems. Panama's quick counterattacks could have been severely punished by a stronger opponent. If Rice played deeper, a better connection could develop between Kane and Bellingham. However, this would require Tuchel to abandon his initial attacking philosophy—currently, he wants five attacking players in possession, creating triangular passing combinations through wingers, full-backs, and advancing midfielders. When Kane drops deep, the wingers must shoulder more responsibility and attack the opposition defense directly.

At Bayern, Kane had teammates such as Olise and Luis Díaz. Tuchel designed this England squad around precisely this type of fast, direct winger. Ironically, the defining characteristic of these wingers so far is that they perform better when they are not playing.

Rashford is currently England's best-performing winger, but overall, the wingers have significantly underperformed. This has forced Kane and Bellingham to shoulder excessive responsibility for creating chances and scoring goals. Others must step up now; otherwise, England will suffer an early exit.

So far, England have not delivered a truly complete, high-level 90-minute performance. They have been surviving on brilliant individual moments from Kane and Bellingham alone. Is that enough to carry England to the final? Can any team realistically rely in the long term on two players who are vastly superior to their teammates? Typically, the answer is no.

Every time I watch Bellingham in a big match, I am reminded of my former Liverpool teammate Steven Gerrard. I recall someone’s extremely accurate assessment of Gerrard: "He doesn't control the game, but he changes the game."

The same applies to Bellingham.

He was born for moments like these.

He scores decisive goals or provides memorable assists when it matters most.

Any neutral fan comparing England's current performance with that of France, Argentina, or Spain—recent championship winners—would tell England supporters the same thing: be realistic.

Other strong teams have numerous world-class players.

Tuchel knows full well that, if England are to compete in the knockout stages, the only path is to maximize Kane and Bellingham's impact while hoping other players finally deliver the level they have never consistently shown for England.

With such inconsistent performances—England played well for only one full 45 minutes across three group matches—future opponents will grow increasingly confident. They will believe that if Kane and Bellingham are contained, Tuchel, like his predecessor, will struggle when it truly matters.

On the positive side, having two world-class superstars capable of changing games offers hope.

After last year's European Championship, I wrote that England should evolve from "Kane's team" into "Bellingham's team."

I spoke too soon.

Today, England's best hope of challenging for the title remains an era jointly led by Kane and Bellingham. How long England lasts in this World Cup depends on one question: will we continue to console ourselves with their individual heroics, or will we celebrate the fact that they have truly inspired their teammates, allowing England to finally mature into a complete, cohesive, and successful team?

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