Effort, spirit and moments - but do England lack all-round quality?

Thomas Tuchel claimed you could bottle up England's mentality and sell it. What you could not sell is their big-game reliability when it matters. Head coach Tuchel was talking in an outspoken interview after the World Cup quarter-final win against Norway, in which he was highly critical of England's performance in the 2-1 victory. The desperate late collapse that resulted in England losing to Argentina in the subsequent semi-final, missing out on a first men's World Cup final appearance since they won the tournament at Wembley in 1966, raised familiar questions about a string of near misses. England can add this bitter disappointment to successive Euro final losses and the 2018 World Cup semi-final defeat by Croatia, giving weight to the argument they will always be a "nearly" team. Effort, spirit and the knack of producing big moments are commendable but will only take you so far - in England's case, not far enough. The devastating late collapse against Argentina joins a catalogue of disappointment now stretching to 60 years. Why England's loss to Argentina felt like most painful in 60 years of hurt 'Passive' and 'crumbled' - did Tuchel's defensive tactics cost England? Some England players disappointed at tactics as Tuchel questions team's DNA Do England lack all-round quality? England's World Cup campaign was led by the world-class quality of their two outstanding performers: captain Harry Kane and Jude Bellingham. Of the Three Lions' 14 goals so far, Kane and Bellingham have scored 12 between them - six each - with Marcus Rashford and Anthony Gordon the other contributors. Tuchel was hampered by Arsenal duo Declan Rice and Bukayo Saka struggling with illness and injuries, reducing the effectiveness of a pair he would have been counting on. John Stones remains a class act but is now 32, while elsewhere England are solid and reliable rather than spectacular. England do not have class stamped right through the side like World Cup finalists and European champions Spain, or France with their stellar array of attacking talent, and they lack the in-built desire and refusal to be beaten of Argentina, helped along by the enduring genius of Lionel Messi. It means their campaign has been restricted, and on occasion rescued, by existing on moments. It has not been characterised by good performances. When England were behind to DR Congo in the last 32, it was Kane's late double that pulled them away from the precipice. When they were behind against Norway in the quarter-final, Bellingham was the saviour with two goals. It was then that Tuchel may well have given the game away when he heaped praise on England's mentality but lambasted their lack of quality. England deserve huge credit for one of their great World Cup wins when they came through the Azteca cauldron to beat Mexico in Mexico City, but have they actually played well? Only if you count 30 minutes in the second half of the 4-2 win against Croatia in their opening group game. England were only 15 minutes away from humiliation against DR Congo until Kane saved them. For all the experience in England's team, and even with the presence of quality such as Rice and Elliot Anderson in midfield, Tuchel's team lack an ability to control possession and dictate terms and tempo against quality sides. Tuchel said ball possession "plays a crucial role". "It's maybe not in our DNA like it is in the Spanish DNA or Argentinian or Brazilian DNA to take the ball, control the game and the ball, which is also a big problem," he said. "I still think we can show how good football players we are. I think that is still in us, as I see it in training and in every camp." It is why they have failed so often when confronted with sides they are not widely expected to beat - and indeed when Croatia passed England off the pitch in Moscow in the 2018 World Cup semi-final. England would regard it as harsh, with some justification, to be labelled as football's version of a "flat-track bully", but their record against elite teams when the heat is on hints at weakness, either on the pitch or in the technical areas. Or both. If there is one statistic that will be used to damn Tuchel's strategy, and England's failure to control a game they were leading, it is the one that states they had 12% possession between Anthony Gordon giving them the lead in the World Cup semi-final after 55 minutes to Lautaro Martinez's winner for Argentina three minutes into stoppage time. Tuchel has, in essence, built his England using a Premier League template in style and system, with a back four, midfield anchors in Rice and Elliot, Bellingham at '10', then two orthodox wide men. All very well - in the Premier League. In the World Cup at elite level it is clear you need more. England have physicality and no little skill, but apart from Kane and Bellingham they have little other X-factor that can work the fine margins in their favour in the big games. The concern for the Football Association is they have now tried everything. Tuchel was meant to be the anti-Gareth Southgate, even though the same Southgate had led England to two Euro finals and a World Cup semi-final. The German was supposed to be the elite coach who would make the difference when it mattered, throw off the perceived cloak of conservatism that held back England under Southgate. Tuchel would be that point of difference between a hard-luck story and a success story. Instead, with England leading a World Cup semi-final and in control, Tuchel went into the sort of tactical retreat that would have had many wanting Southgate run out of town. Should Tuchel be more expansive? Tuchel's England effectively reached par by getting to the semi-finals, but par does not win big prizes. Quality does. He went for a pragmatic squad as opposed to one where he went straight for quality. Trent Alexander-Arnold was exiled long before the squad was named. Cole Palmer and Phil Foden were left out, admittedly after poor seasons with Chelsea and Manchester City. Morgan Gibbs-White was ignored after a fine campaign at Nottingham Forest. And what would England have given, at times, for the ability of Crystal Palace's Adam Wharton to retain possession and control games with his range of passing? Wharton may be an international rookie with only four caps, but he has the class and maturity for the big occasion, as he proved when Palace won the FA Cup and the Conference League. The conundrum is clear. Few would pick a different midfield base of Rice and Anderson, while Bellingham is one of the best in the world at what he does. Tuchel and England, however, must find something different because what they currently possess - or who the coach is utilising - has fallen short once more. What next for England? How does Tuchel fix key problems for Euro 2028? How coach-on-pitch Messi undid England's tactics on the fly Some England players disappointed at tactics as Tuchel questions team's DNA