On 28 June, in his column for The Telegraph, Carragher stated that England's performance at the FIFA World Cup so far has been underwhelming, and the team remains overly reliant on Kane and Bellingham.

Here is the content of the column:

When Tuchel took over England, he knew he was fortunate to have two world-class players. But he couldn't be certain whether he could build a truly great England team. Now, as the FIFA World Cup enters the knockout stages, that hasn't changed. Kane and Bellingham have once again proven why they play for two of the biggest clubs in the world. For that reason, they are England's greatest hope before the team came to the United States for the FIFA World Cup; and how far England progresses in the future still depends heavily on their performances.

Just as they have done for England in the past, Kane and Bellingham once again delivered in the most crucial moments. So far, 5 out of 6 of England's goals at this FIFA World Cup have come directly from their contributions. Meanwhile, Kane continues to set new records with almost every goal he scores. His 70th goal this season has also made him England's all-time leading goalscorer in FIFA World Cup finals.

However, when Kane and Bellingham led the team to victory over Panama, returned to the hotel, basked in the praise, and began thinking about the next match, I couldn't help but wonder whether they personally thought: if the team's system made more sense, they could contribute even more to the team. My suspicion is that although both would be pleased with their important performances, they are actually disappointed with many aspects of the first three matches.

Especially Kane.

For years, at every major international tournament, one phrase I've hated hearing most is: "Kane drops too deep, and it hurts the team." This statement is too simplistic. Kane has played this way for years, so it's not news. The real problem isn't Kane dropping outside the penalty area to get the ball. The real problem is how his teammates must play around him when Kane is allowed to continue playing this way.

There are several reasons why Kane drops deep so often. First, as he's aged, his pace isn't what it was when he was younger, so he has had to adjust his playing style rather than stay high up the pitch waiting for chances all game. He is one of the smartest players in world football and instinctively knows which areas he should occupy. Second, he's also one of England's best passers. He can deliver defense-splitting through balls and also finish attacks.

The real problem lies at the tactical level. If too many players in the starting lineup like to occupy the "between the lines" area where Kane drops deep, it becomes too crowded. The result is: the area in front of the penalty box becomes congested, but there aren't enough players attacking behind the opposing defence. Southgate faced this problem in the last tournament. And this problem persists at this FIFA World Cup. In the first half against Panama, Kane touched the ball only once inside the penalty area. More concerning, he barely touched it outside the penalty area either, only 10 times in total. And against Ghana, he touched the ball just 20 times in total. This limits England's most versatile striker and deadliest weapon. Tuchel must rethink his approach before facing stronger opponents.

Last night, one clear issue was that he deployed two attacking midfielders. This meant that Morgan Rogers and Bellingham both like to move into Kane's area to receive the ball. Sometimes, Nico O'Reilly would also appear there. And in the first two matches, Rice also often played in this manner. One solution is to ask Rice, once he returns, to form a double pivot with Elliott Anderson and play deeper.

Against Panama, Anderson showed many vulnerabilities. Panama launched too many quick counterattacks. If that had been a stronger team, England would have been punished long ago. If Rice played deeper, there might be better connection between Kane and Bellingham. However, this would mean Tuchel has to shift his initial attacking philosophy. Currently, he wants the team to form five attacking players when in possession, and create triangular passing combinations on the flanks through wingers, fullbacks, and overlapping midfielders. When Kane drops deep, both wingers should assume more responsibility and attack the opposing defence more.

At Bayern Munich, Kane had teammates like Olise and Luis Díaz. Tuchel also designed this England team around quick, direct wingers. Therefore, he brought many such players to his FIFA World Cup squad. Unfortunately, so far, the defining characteristic of these wingers seems to be that they perform better when they're not playing.

Rashford is considered the winger with the best current form. But overall, the performances of all the wingers have been far from adequate. This has forced Kane and Bellingham to shoulder even more responsibility in creating chances and scoring goals. Now, the others must step up. If they don't, England will be heading home early.

So far, England hasn't played a truly complete and high-level full 90 minutes. They are still relying only on brilliant moments created by the individual brilliance of Kane and Bellingham. Is this enough to take England to the final? Can a team rely on two players who are far above the level of their teammates for an extended period? Usually, the answer is no.

Every time I watch Bellingham play in big matches, I'm reminded of my Liverpool teammate Gerrard. I always remember someone made a very accurate comment about Gerrard: "He doesn't control the game, but he changes it."

The same applies to Bellingham.

He was born for those crucial moments.

He always scores the decisive goal or provides the assist that everyone will remember at the most important time.

Every neutral fan, after seeing England's current performance and then watching France, Argentina, and Spain, who have continuously won championships in recent years, will surely remind England fans: be realistic.

The other strong teams have many world-class players.

And Tuchel knows full well that if England wants to compete with these teams in the next knockout rounds, the only way is to continue maximising Kane and Bellingham's output, while at the same time hoping that the other players finally perform at the level they haven't shown consistently for England.

When a team's performance is still so inconsistent—in three group-stage matches, England only played well for one complete 45-minute period—future opponents will surely grow increasingly confident.

Because they will believe: as long as Kane and Bellingham are limited, Tuchel will be helpless when it truly matters, just like his predecessor.

Of course, there is also a silver lining.

As long as your team has two world-class superstars who can change the game, there is always hope.

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

It turns out I spoke too soon.

Today, England's greatest asset in challenging for the championship is still an era led jointly by Kane and Bellingham. How long England lasts at this FIFA World Cup will depend on one question: will we ultimately just keep deceiving ourselves repeatedly that they've delivered some flashes of individual heroics; or will we be able to celebrate that they have truly inspired all their teammates around them, enabling England to finally grow into a complete, mature, and successful team?

Diterjemahkan oleh AI.

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