After reaching the stage as hosts in 1966, and then in Italy and Russia in 1990 and 2018, England have another World Cup semi-final to prepare for.
When French referee Clement Turpin signaled the end of an incident-filled quarter-final win in Miami, Thomas Tuchel’s exhausted players sank to their knees in celebration after being taken to extra time by Norway.
England’s fans danced in the stands, two-goal Jude Bellingham accidentally clashed heads with Jordan Pickford during the on-pitch celebrations, while captain Harry Kane lined up with his team-mates to acknowledge the thousands of fans who had made the long journey to Florida.
Yet Tuchel was far from impressed.
“We got lucky,” he said after a quarter-final that saw Norway take the lead, miss a great chance to make it 2-0, have a goal disallowed and also hit the bar.
“We made life very, very difficult for ourselves. The result is fantastic. We are in the last four. It’s amazing but [I am] not happy with the performance – in every sense.
“We made life difficult for us in the way we played and how we played – sloppy, a lot of technical mistakes, not fast enough, not repetitive enough.”
Tuchel suggested one thing had helped England advance.
“This is pure mentality,” he said.
When asked about his manager’s comments and criticism of the performance, Bellingham – who struck in the 47th and 93rd minutes – replied: “Yeah well, whatever.
“It’s difficult out there, it’s a tough shift. All the players have put in a tough shift. My thoughts and appreciation goes to the players out there who put in a great shift.”
England have struggled to set this World Cup alight since overcoming Croatia 4-2 in their first group game.
They were held by Ghana, did enough to get past Panama 2-0, fell behind to DR Congo before advancing and dug deep to see off Mexico 3-2 with 10 men.
And Tuchel said that while he “loves” the team, he also expects much more from them.
“[There is] no disconnect from me to my team,” he said.
“With my heart, I am fully in love with my players and my team, but we can play better, there are a lot of things to do better.”
Will they need to?
Will character and mentality be enough as England look to win the World Cup for only the second time – or do they need to improve with a semi-final against Argentina next?
‘Maybe he doesn’t know what it’s like’
England had to endure hot and humid conditions in Miami in getting past Norway, but they have little recovery time before the semi-final after a gruelling game that lasted 122 minutes.
“Maybe he [Tuchel] doesn’t know what it’s like to play in those conditions against Erling Haaland, Martin Odegaard, Antonio Nusa and Alexander Sorloth,” added Bellingham, who is averaging a goal a game at this World Cup after his double took his tally to six.
“They’re not an easy team to play against. I can’t speak highly enough of the lads.
“You can’t win every game popping the ball and making 1,000 passes, sometimes you have to win dirty and we did that today.”
Tuchel’s post-match comments, however, were praised by several former England players.
“Over the years, we might have had someone come out and say that we stuck together and we were brilliant,” former England captain Alan Shearer told BBC Sport.
“You have to give him [Tuchel] credit for doing it – he was having none of that.”
Wayne Rooney, who scored 53 goals in 120 England appearances, said England’s German boss was “spot on in terms of the mentality”.
Rooney said the team showed character as Ezri Konsa went off injured and Declan Rice, who had been a doubt due to injury in the days before the game, was replaced at the start of the second half.
“The character of the players has got them through that game because for large parts of that game Norway were the better team,” added Rooney.
Meanwhile, former England defender Matt Upson told BBC Sport: “It felt that [with] 25 minutes left before the end of the 90, Norway were going to win this game.”
‘I expect England to start semi-final differently’
England have had to rely on individual performances to dig themselves out of trouble in their run to the last four.
Bellingham and Kane combined to break down Panama in the group stage before Kane’s late double dug them out of trouble in the last-32 win over DR Congo in Atlanta, where they will return for next week’s semi-final.
On Saturday, it was Bellingham who got England out of trouble.
“England had to suffer, particularly in the second half,” added Shearer.
“When Tuchel speaks about mentality, [he is talking about] the way they found a way to get back into the game, the way they found a way to keep going, they have had to scrap again, because they weren’t brilliant at times in that second half.
“But they are made of tough stuff. They have proven it once again by getting to the semi-final.”
Rooney also praised their resilience, adding: “We’re all delighted that England have got through but the performance wasn’t great. However, they found a way.
“I love that interview [from Tuchel]. I thought he was spot on in terms of the mentality. It’s about getting through to the semi-finals. They’ve done their job tonight.”
And Upson expects England to start the next game differently, especially in less humid conditions.
“I expect England to start the semi-final with a different tempo and different mindset,” added Upson, who won 21 caps for England between 2003-2010.
“I understand [Tuchel’s] assessment – we can all see that England can do that a lot better.”
