England captain Harry Kane has challenged his teammates to elevate their performance ahead of Wednesday’s FIFA World Cup semi-final against defending champions Argentina, insisting the Three Lions will need “a bigger push” to secure a place in the final.
England will face Lionel Messi’s Argentina at Atlanta Stadium in one of the tournament’s most anticipated fixtures, with the South American giants aiming to reach a second consecutive World Cup final.
Despite progressing to the last four, Kane admitted England have yet to produce their best football during the tournament in North America.
The Bayern Munich striker said the team has shown flashes of its quality but believes there is still another level to reach if they are to overcome one of the world’s strongest sides.
“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,” Kane said.
“We’ll be playing against one of the best teams in the world in the semi-final and we still feel like we can improve.”
The 32-year-old noted that England have consistently reached the latter stages of major tournaments, including consecutive UEFA European Championship finals in 2020 and 2024, but stressed that the team must now take the final step.
“Of course, we want to get over the line. That is the missing piece now,” he said.
“We’re knocking on the door. We’re getting to semi-finals and finals. We’re going to need an even bigger push now.
“We know ourselves we have another level that we can reach.”
England will be seeking a place in the World Cup final, while Argentina hope to continue their title defence and move one step closer to retaining the trophy.