Harry Kane may have scored six World Cup goals in North America – but he is one of many England stars that ultimately failed to deliver.
That’s the brutal view of ex-Watford striker Troy Deeney, who believes a host of Three Lions stars weren’t as good as their reputation precedes.
England’s hopes of World Cup glory were put to an end by Argentina on Wednesday, as the holders staged a late comeback to win 2-1 in the semi-finals.
Thomas Tuchel’s side came within minutes of reaching a first World Cup final since they lifted the Jules Rimet trophy on home soil 60 years ago.
But it’s back to the drawing board for England, who have now reached the last four in two of the last three editions of the global tournament.
Question marks are already being asked as to whether Tuchel is the right man to deliver a first title since 1966, though talkSPORT understands the FA will stick with the German through to Euro 2028.
Legendary talkSPORT broadcaster Adrian Durham handed him a 2/10 in his ratings for the Argentina defeat – hitting out at his ultra defensive approach following Anthony Gordon’s 55th minute opener.
Troy story
But Deeney believes that the players must shoulder a lot of blame for failing to deliver across the pond as he named and shamed those who in his underperformed.
Picking out two defenders that he wasn’t impressed with, he told talkSPORT: “Nico O’Reilly was really poor, considering how much of a wonderful season he’s had [at Manchester City].
“I wasn’t sold on the old Dan Burn is this cult hero, thought he’d come on and headed a few balls, which when you’re 6ft 7in you should do, it’s kind of what we brought you for.
“Everyone getting a bit too high on that – by the way, when he came on against Argentina and didn’t win one header – I’ve not heard anyone say anything.
“It’s amazing, isn’t it? He wins one header against Norway, steps over someone, ‘Give him a knighthood.’
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“In a big game, doesn’t win a header at all when he comes on, just brush under the carpet, ‘It’s not his fault.'”
And Deeney then singled out Elliot Anderson, who secured a £116million move to Manchester City during the World Cup, as a midfielder that failed to live up to the hype.
He remarked: “Elliot Anderson was bang average as well, none of them controlled the midfield, that’s something I’ve been saying for the whole time.”
When discussing England’s wingers, only Bukayo Saka was given a pass, with the Arsenal star struggling with fitness issues throughout the competition.
Deeney stated: “[Noni] Madueke terrible, honestly terrible, Saka, again injured, so [I] give him a bit of a pass for that.
“Left-hand side, [Marcus] Rashford, again average at best.
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“Gordon, average at best, I know he scored [against Argentina], but average, £80m [£70m] to Barcelona, did that warrant any game[time] for you? Anyway, what do I know?”
Kane was the next to be singled out by Deeney – despite his six goals seeing him become England’s all-time top World Cup scorer with 14 strikes.
The Bayern Munich marksman, who created history in England’s 4-2 opening win against Croatia in Group L, didn’t find the back of the net in either the quarter-final or semi-final.
Deeney said of the ex-Tottenham centre-forward: “I thought Harry Kane was underwhelming as well.
“Even though he scored a lot of goals, I thought he was underwhelming.”
Who did Troy Deeney single out for praise?
Deeney only gave a shoutout to two players who thought delivered when the going got tough: Jude Bellingham and Djed Spence.
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Bellingham, who has also fired in six times in North America alongside Kane, boasts the England record of the most open play goals in a single World Cup.
The 23-year-old is also the youngest player since Pele in 1958 to fire in two goals or more in consecutive World Cup knockout games [doing so against Mexico in the last-16 and Norway in the quarter-finals].
Spence, meanwhile, has put a shift in and both right-back and left-back, with the Spurs defender proving to be a valuable asset off the bench.
Commenting on the pair, Deeney stated: “I thought, besides Jude Bellingham, and I’ll go as far as Djed Spence for the last two performances.
“I thought everybody else left a lot out there, where you started to question, ‘Are you as good as we really think?'”
