Watching England this World Cup, one thing jumps out immediately. Almost every goal comes from the same two players.

Harry Kane and Jude Bellingham have combined for 12 of England’s 13 goals so far. That’s not an exaggeration or a quirky stat pulled out of context, it’s the entire story of their attack through six games. From the opener against Croatia all the way through extra time against Norway, nearly everything England has produced in front of the goal has come from one of them.

There is technically one exception. Marcus Rashford scored once, way back at the start of the tournament, and it already feels like it happened in a different World Cup.

Kane And Bellingham Have Taken Over This Tournament

Before this turns into me dunking on everyone else in the squad, let’s be clear about something: what Kane and Bellingham are doing right now is ridiculous, in the best way. This is one of the best two-man scoring runs England’s ever had at a World Cup, maybe the best. They’ve both got six goals, which means they’ve each matched Gary Lineker’s 40-year-old record from Mexico ’86.

No English player had ever hit six in a single tournament before this summer. Now two guys have done it at the same time, and they’re not even finished yet. They're also the first teammates to each have six in a single World Cup, ever. That’s not a problem by itself. It’s incredible. But it does leave you with a slightly uneasy thought heading into Atlanta: what happens if one of them just… doesn’t have it for a night? What if Romero decides Kane’s not getting a sniff all game? Because right now, there isn’t an obvious Plan B, and Argentina feels like exactly the kind of team that could punish that.

An Unprecedented Run

Kane started things off with two against Croatia — including a penalty — in that 4-2 opener. Bellingham added one, Rashford got the fourth late, and that Rashford goal is still — six games later — the only one that didn’t come from Kane or Bellingham. Then Ghana shut England out completely, which, in hindsight, was probably the first little warning sign. Panama lost 2-0 with one goal each from Bellingham and Kane. DR Congo went ahead early in the round of 32 before Kane dragged England back with two in the second half.

Then Mexico was chaos: Bellingham scored twice in about six minutes, Kane added a penalty, and England somehow held on 3-2 after going down to ten men in a very loud Azteca. Then Norway, where Bellingham basically said “fine, I’ll do it myself,” scoring right before halftime and again in extra time to win it.

There’s also a bigger picture thing going on here with Kane that’s easy to miss in all of this. He came into the tournament needing two goals to tie Lineker’s all-time England World Cup record and three to break it. He’s scored six. So yeah, he didn’t just catch it, he flew past it. And considering he was already England’s all-time leading scorer overall, this isn’t some weird hot streak out of nowhere. It’s just Kane doing Kane things, now with a midfielder next to him who can actually keep up.

And Bellingham deserves his own moment here, separate from all the record stuff. Back-to-back knockout games with braces. Youngest player since Pelé to do that. Top-scoring midfielder in the tournament. That’s wild. Gary Neville said he’s getting goosebumps watching him, and for once that doesn’t feel like pundit fluff. He’s everywhere — scoring, running the game, getting into it with his own manager after matches. When you’ve got players dragging you through games like that, you don’t complain too much about how it looks.

That said, England has seen this movie before, and it didn’t exactly end happily. At Euro 2024, it was basically the same setup: Kane and Bellingham doing the heavy lifting, everyone else a bit hit-or-miss, and when those two had quiet spells, things got shaky. England made the final and lost to Spain. This isn’t some made-up concern. It’s already happened once. That’s why the question of what the rest of the team does when Kane or Bellingham isn’t bailing them out matters so much.

It’s not theory. It’s recent history.

Everyone Else Is Still Waiting

Part of this is pretty simple: it’s exactly how Tuchel wants these two to be used. England has mostly rolled out in a 4-2-3-1, with Kane up top doing his usual thing, and Bellingham basically freelancing off him from the ten spot. Out wide, it’s been a bit of a revolving door. Gordon, Saka, Madueke, Rashford, plus Eze coming off the bench — Tuchel’s been mixing and matching all tournament, trying to keep legs fresh in some pretty brutal conditions instead of locking in a set front three.

And honestly, that makes sense over a long tournament. But the trade-off is pretty obvious too: none of those wide guys have really had time to settle into a rhythm or build that chemistry you need against these powerhouses. Rice and Anderson have been holding things down in midfield, and Reece James is only just getting back up to speed now. Add it all up and yeah, it explains why Kane and Bellingham keep ending up in the right spots while everyone else is just a step off. It explains it. It doesn’t change it.

This isn’t really about Kane and Bellingham anymore. It’s about everyone else.

Saka and Gordon both have three assists, so it’s not like they’ve been passengers. They’ve been involved, and Saka especially has looked more like himself as the tournament’s gone on after a long club season. But there’s a difference between helping build a move and actually finishing it, and neither of them has scored in six games. Gordon had a clean look against Ghana and hit it straight at the keeper. Saka’s had a few moments too. Nothing’s gone in. Madueke, Rashford (outside that one Croatia goal), Anderson, Rice — they’ve all had minutes, all had chances, and none of them have added to the total since opening night. Anderson even had one against Ghana where it genuinely felt harder to miss than score, and he still put it over.

There’s also this slightly awkward subplot hanging over everything: Cole Palmer isn’t coming to save the day. Tuchel left him out back in the spring and went with pace and directness instead. Palmer’s been at home basically saying, "Yeah, I think I could’ve helped." You can agree or disagree with that, but the reality is there’s no mystery option waiting in the wings. No late twist. This is the group Tuchel picked, and this is the group that has to figure it out.

Tuchel’s not pretending otherwise, either. After the Norway game, when he got asked if they’re too reliant on two players, he didn’t dance around it:

We need to get better in attacking to also bring other players into position.

That’s about as straightforward as it gets a few days before a semifinal. He knows what this looks like. He knows how thin the margin is if those two don’t deliver.

And now it’s not even theoretical anymore. Bellingham’s been dealing with that shoulder again — the same one he had surgery on — and it was still bothering him after Norway. There’s no official panic yet, he’s still expected to start, but it’s the kind of thing that makes you pause given his history. And if he’s even slightly off or if Kane just has one of those nights, then this whole “two guys will handle it” approach finally gets stress-tested for real.

Argentina Is Where This Gets Real

Because, honestly, Argentina is the toughest team England’s seen all tournament, and it’s not particularly close. Messi’s got eight goals, tied for the lead, and somehow he’s still playing like he’s in his prime even though he’s well into his late thirties. Álvarez hit one of the best goals of the entire World Cup in the 112th minute to get past Switzerland and send them to Atlanta. This is the defending champion, and they’ve shown they can win however the game asks them to. They won't look rattled if England pulls level or gets ahead early. Extra time to get past Cabo Verde, came back from 2-0 down against Egypt to win 3-2, then needed extra time again against Switzerland. And through all of that, they only look more motivated.

There’s history here too. This is the sixth time England and Argentina have met at a World Cup, and it’s not exactly a quiet rivalry. You’ve got the Hand of God, Beckham’s red card, all of it. And somehow, this is the first time Messi’s ever faced England on this stage. So there’s clearly a lot going on heading into Wednesday, and none of it makes this any easier for England.

And then there’s Kane, which is its own thing entirely. He turns 33 ten days after the final, so you have to wonder if this is his last World Cup. And he’s come into it playing the best soccer of his life, scoring 61 goals in 52 matches for Bayern this past season. He’s been England’s guy for years now without ever getting over the line internationally, and now he’s two wins away from finally doing it.

That’s not just a nice storyline, that’s the whole reason he keeps taking the ball in crowded boxes and trying to make something happen anyway. Same with Bellingham making those late runs over and over again. They’re not pacing themselves or trying to be tidy about it. They’re just trying to get it done.

England Needs One More Name On The Scoresheet

England doesn’t need Saka, Gordon, or anyone else up front to suddenly morph into Kane or Bellingham. That’s not the ask. They just need one of them — literally one — to take a decent chance and actually bury it. Not another tidy assist, not another shot right at the keeper. Just a proper goal from someone who doesn't already have six goals in this tournament.

Because if Argentina manages to even slightly take Kane and Bellingham out of the game — and good teams usually figure something out — that’s where the answers are going to have to come from. England needs another outlet that isn’t just crossing fingers and hoping something falls. Right now, that option hasn’t really shown up.

Saka and Gordon have done enough over six games to make you think it’s coming at some point. It just… hasn’t yet. And asking for that breakthrough to finally happen on Wednesday night, against the best team they’ve faced so far, isn't exactly ideal timing.

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