Former England winger Chris Waddle says every team has to rely on its star players – and Jude Bellingham and Harry Kane are Thomas Tuchel’s main men.
The two starters have single-handedly dragged Tuchel’s Three Lions into the last eight of World Cup 2026, playing starring roles in Monday’s heroic 3-2 win over Mexico.
Waddle has poured praise on the dazzling duo – but wants to see more from England’s wingers, including Anthony Gordon and Bukayo Saka, ahead of Saturday’s World Cup quarter-final with Norway (kick-off 10pm UK time).
He also thinks that England should be wary of the Norwegian threat, suggesting it may be necessary to pay extra attention to Manchester City forward Erling Haaland, who has been in fine goalscoring form in this tournament, recently bagging a brace to knock out Brazil.
Best display from Bellingham
During an exclusive interview with 10bet, Waddle said of England’s reliance on captain Kane and Real Madrid forward Bellingham: “Jude Bellingham basically has a free role in a way, and under the circumstances [against Mexico], that was the best I’ve seen him play in an England shirt.
“He’s full of confidence, scoring goals and causing problems.
“Harry Kane is also so important to the team.
“If you take those two out, it’s tough, but you can look at every team that way.
“What would Norway do without Haaland? What would France do if [Kylian] Mbappé gets injured?”
England’s two big hitters
Waddle continued: “A lot of teams rely on star players. Kane and Bellingham are our big hitters now, there’s no doubt about that.
“I would just like to get a little bit more from the wide men.
“Saka, and I think Gordon showed signs [against Mexico] that he had a bit of confidence back and did quite well on that left-hand side.
“We’re still deciding who to play on the right, but if we can get a little bit more from the wide men, that would help us a lot more.”
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Dan Burn on standby
Marc Guéhi is an injury concern for England, and Dan Burn is ready to come into the starting XI to handle the physical presence of Man City powerhouse Haaland.
Regarding Haaland, former Tottenham and Newcastle United winger Waddle stated: “He’s full of confidence, he knows his team-mates and he’s going to cause problems.
“We know he’s got pace, he’s a big strong guy, he can hit it and his movement is very good.
“Sometimes you just can’t stop goalscorers when they’re on a run.
“Realistically, the only way to stop them is man-marking, but I don’t think England will do that.
“They’ll play zonal, the way they usually play.”
Get tight to Haaland
Waddle added: “He’s the guy you’ve got to watch whenever the ball is coming into the final third – where is Erling Haaland? Somebody has got to get tight to him and not switch off.
“Their other player, Alexander Sørloth, is a dangerous player too, though more creative than a pure goalscorer.
“We know Martin Ødegaard and the others as well.
“But once you get in that final third, somebody has got to engage Haaland and make sure he doesn’t get a yard.”
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Tournament coming to life
Having been underdogs against Mexico, England will enter the Norway game as favourites to reach the semi-finals.
And Waddle said: “Well, now that they’ve got to the quarter-finals, this is where the tournament starts, let’s be honest.
“The group stages were hard work, but I always thought England would get to this stage.
“This is where it livens up.
“We just talked about how hard it is to win against Mexico, but Norway have a lot of players who play in the UK.
“They know our players, we know their players and it should be a good game.
“I always said the World Cup was going to be hard work to watch during the group stages, but this round has livened up a bit and got the tournament going.”
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Michael Davey