Harry Kane backs England manager Thomas Tuchel's tough message before Argentina showdown

Tuchel's comments came after England survived a demanding quarter-final played in extreme heat and humidity, with Jude Bellingham's two goals securing a 2-1 victory against Norway to set up a mouthwatering semifinal encounter against bitter rivals Argentina.

Bellingham appeared frustrated by his manager's reaction after the match, questioning whether Tuchel fully understood the difficulty of facing Erling Haaland, Martin Odegaard and Norway's other attacking threats in such conditions.

Kane, however, played down any tension and backed Tuchel's approach, acknowledging that England have not yet delivered a complete performance during the tournament and attempted to explain that Tuchel's frustration comes from seeing a different version of England in training and wanting that quality to translate onto the biggest stage.

"When he sees us train and sees the closeness of us and sees what we can do, especially with the players we have, the way we attack, our one-on-ones and the skills, he just wants to see that version of us," the England captain said.

"He knows as much as anyone that it's not as simple as that, we're playing against good opposition and good teams.

"He's trying to drag it out of us and we know ourselves we have another level that we can reach.

"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."

The former Tottenham forward accepts there is room for improvement, but believes reaching the semi-finals while still searching for their best form is a positive sign.

"At this stage of the tournament you are playing against the best teams in the world," he said.

"We'll be playing against one of the best teams in the world in the semi-final, so the most pleasing thing is that we are in a semi-final and still feel like we can improve.

"But I don't think it is something to get really over the top about. We are showing a lot of good things."

England's meeting with Argentina represents another opportunity for a generation that has consistently reached the latter stages of major tournaments but has yet to win a major trophy.

The clash against Lionel Messi will be the three Lions' second semifinal in three World Cups, following their run to the last four in 2018, while they have been beaten finalists in successive European Championships.

Kane believes the squad must now find the final ingredient needed to turn near-misses into success.

"It's been an extremely successful era of our national team," he said. "Of course, we want to get over the line. That is the missing piece now.

"We're knocking on the door. We're getting to these semi-finals and finals. It's a big week.

"We've been together six weeks and shown every bit of desire for the badge and we're going to need an even bigger push now for the last week or so."

With Argentina standing between England and a place in the World Cup final, Kane insists Tuchel's demands could prove vital as they chase history.

"We can play better on the ball. We know that for sure," he said. "The preparation will come for the next game and we will try to improve with the ball as much as possible."

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