England’s scrappy win over Norway unpacked: Why Thomas Tuchel was right to attack his players, the problem with the back four, the midfielder who went up a level and the difference between Harry Kane and Erling Haaland

After a night of drama and controversy in hot and sticky Miami, England have progressed to the semi-finals of the World Cup. Thomas Tuchel’s team may still be searching for top form and the England manager may not be happy, but that won’t matter until Wednesday in Atlanta.

Here, Daily Mail Sports It looks at the big stories from a long night in Florida.

Can England win the World Cup playing like this?

A draw that perhaps shouldn’t have counted, a goal scored by the goalkeeper and a Norway goal canceled out by VAR. That’s one way to get to the fourth World Cup semi-final in English football history.

The question is whether England can continue to ride this strange wave to the winning podium in New Jersey next Sunday. As strange as it sounds, they probably can.

England are playing with a spirit and unity that was missing at Euros 2024 and they have match-winners who continue to do what they say on the pitch. England have played six matches in this tournament and Harry Kane and Jude Bellingham have 12 goals between them. It’s a river that doesn’t seem to stop flowing any time soon, and right now both men seem to believe they can score goals every time they step on the pitch.

If England are to progress – and after that Wednesday’s semi-final in Atlanta will be a big question mark – then they will need to perform a million miles better to stand a chance of a match against France or Spain at the MetLife. But that’s hopefully next week’s question.

It is useful to remember something important. The best team doesn’t always win the World Cup.

Jude Bellingham scores the winning goal to send England into the last four

Tuchel line multiplication

Tuchel has continued to openly support his players throughout this strange England World Cup, even when it was clear that they were not playing at the levels usually needed to progress in a tournament. But here he drew a line in the sand and felt this was the right time.

This was a performance of England’s determination and energy. While they looked dead-on in the last 10 minutes of normal time, they somehow found the gas they needed in extra time. But that’s no way of masking a performance that was largely outdone by a Norway team that shouldn’t have been able to live with them.

Management; It’s about tactics, selection, in-game decisions and everything else, but it’s also a matter of timing and intuition. Standing on the touchline with full-time television reporters in the scorching heat of this stadium, Tuchel decided it was time to give his team both kegs.

‘Sloppy’ and ‘lucky’ were two words he used, and – although Bellingham did not seem pleased when the comments were relayed to him later – he was absolutely right. Tuchel tried everything to make this team perform properly, but it didn’t work. This felt like a last resort and was also appropriate.

Thomas Tuchel calls England team ‘sloppy’ and ‘unlucky’ after win over Norway

Same sad song

This is a strange England team that wants to take their chances against most opponents but also looks and feels like they could lose to everyone.

This is not only due to the problems Tuchel’s back four suffered during the World Cup, but it certainly didn’t help either.

Here Tuchel chose the only defense that really made sense; Ezri Konsa moved to right-back to allow John Stones to come in but we sat and watched the same old problems unravel.

Stones put in a superb performance in the final half-hour in Mexico, putting 10-man England with their backs against the wall, but other than that they haven’t had a good tournament. While Croatia scored a good opening goal in Dallas and almost let Haaland score in the first half, they fell behind.

Norway is a good team that has found a way to play in this tournament. Their defeat against Brazil was spectacular. But the famous South Americans were a team full of defensive flaws and unfortunately so were England.

Tuchel’s back four is infecting the entire team with its uncertainty, and that includes the goalkeeper. Jordan Pickford seemed to have found his true identity in Mexico City, but perhaps he abandoned himself there. At some point, all of this has to change.

John Stones’ ball was stolen by Patrick Berg and this almost led to a goal for Norway in Miami.

Jordan Pickford seemed to have found his true self in Mexico City, but perhaps he abandoned himself there.

Anderson joins the club

If Kane and Bellingham have booted England into this tournament (scoring all but one of their team’s 13 goals), then they are slowly starting to join Elliot Anderson’s elite performance club.

The new Manchester City signing’s performances were assured from the opening match, but he stepped up a gear against Norway. With fellow senior midfielder Declan Rice leaving the field with an injury at half-time and a possible doubt for Wednesday, Anderson looks unlikely to be the least bit surprised to carry the load in the semi-finals.

Some players go into big summer tournaments barely having stepped foot in the game. Another midfielder, David Platt, did the same thing as England reached the last four in Italy in 1990.

We have seen here before that Anderson sits deep in midfield while Rice moves further forward. Things were a little different in Miami because Anderson was allowed to hang around from the start. Perhaps this was a plan to protect Rice, who has been nursing hamstring and back pain this tournament, by reducing the Arsenal man’s yards.

Whatever the case, it worked. Anderson has been excellent with the ball at his feet and the 23-year-old’s range of passing is increasing day by day. Watching him spread the play out to Noni Madueke on the right on several occasions was an insight into the type of service players like Jeremy Doku and Antoine Semenyo will receive at the Etihad in the new season. It was a spark in another disjointed England performance.

Elliot Anderson was excellent with the ball at his feet and the 23-year-old’s passing range is increasing day by day

Kane and Haaland are just different

We can argue all day about who is the better centre-back, but Kane and Erling Haaland play the game differently.

While Kane is the ultimate first line of defense for England – pressuring opponents in possession and dropping as deep as necessary to find the ball – Haaland is almost a study in isolation and loneliness.

Erling Haaland may seem almost out of the game. But he was effective everywhere it mattered in Miami, and that’s his talent.

When England gained possession in the early stages of dominance, City’s striker was getting into his team’s form but showed absolutely no interest in closing the ball down. When he moved towards an England player with the ball it was always more of a ‘stroll’ rather than a ‘run’ and was designed to save energy for when he really needed it.

Stones and Marc Guehi were allowed to retain possession at their leisure and it was only when England moved into the final third that the Norway defense came into play. It’s no different than Haaland playing for City in the Premier League. The touch map can often be quite shocking because it can seem almost out of the game.

But Haaland was effective everywhere it mattered in Miami, and that’s his talent. We will miss him in this tournament.