Former Chelsea striker Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink believes England’s attacking quality can take them far, but says Thomas Tuchel’s side must improve defensively if they are to compete with the best teams at the 2026 World Cup.
Speaking in an exclusive interview with 10bet, Hasselbaink warned that a higher standard of defensive actions will be required when the competition reaches its latter stages.
England opened their tournament with a 4-2 victory over Croatia and are expected to challenge for top spot in Group L, but Hasselbaink feels tougher tests await England.
Hasselbaink highlights defensive concerns
While England’s attacking display against Croatia earned widespread praise, Hasselbaink believes the goals conceded should serve as a warning heading into the remainder of the tournament.
“You absolutely have to defend better,” Hasselbaink said. “If you want to go far in a major tournament, you have to defend better.”
The former Netherlands international believes successful tournament teams are built on strong defensive foundations.
“Defences win you leagues and cups; your forward players are the ones who win you individual matches.”
“So the goals-against column has to improve,” he added.
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Tougher tests still to come
England’s opening victory represented an encouraging start, but Hasselbaink believes matches against the tournament favourites will present a far greater challenge.
“When they come up against the really elite teams later in the competition – your Argentinas, Frances, or Brazils – they are going to have to defend much better as a collective unit,” he said.
The former striker feels knockout football often hinges on fine margins.
“Against those kinds of countries, it’s going to be a lot tighter, and you might only get one real chance to score in the whole game,” Hasselbaink continued.
“So the defence has to tighten up.”
Team issue rather than defensive issue
Hasselbaink was keen to stress that responsibility does not fall solely on England’s back four.
Instead, he believes defending begins higher up the pitch and requires a collective effort from the entire team.
“I don’t think it’s just the back four either,” he said. “It’s a collective, team-wide pressing issue.”
“But at the end of the day, you have to keep clean sheets to win tournaments.”
Positive outlook against Ghana
Despite his concerns, Hasselbaink expects England to continue their strong start when they face Ghana in their next group-stage fixture.
The former striker believes England’s second-half display against Croatia could provide a platform for improvement moving forward.
“I think, especially in the beginning and in the first half, you are going to see a lot of positivity,” he said.
“I think England are going to build on how they ended the last match and start exactly like that.”
Hasselbaink expects England’s attacking quality to prove decisive once again.
“Hopefully they can play a little bit freer like they did in the second half, and I would expect England to win against Ghana and cement that first place in the group,” he added.
For now, England have made a winning start to their World Cup campaign.
However, if Hasselbaink’s assessment is correct, their hopes of lifting the trophy may ultimately depend on how quickly they can improve at the other end of the pitch.
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SportJustSport writers 
Simon Wilkes 
Michael Davey