England's 2026 World Cup Hopes Rest Heavily on Kane and Bellingham Partnership

New York. After Jude Bellingham scored the first goal for England against Mexico at the Azteca Stadium, he and Harry Kane were the last to come out of the celebration crowd. Even after the first round of celebrations ended and the friends returned to their places, these two stood together. They accepted the cheers and applause of the England supporters who had gathered in Mexico City with both their hands outstretched.

This scene and the moment the team sang the song 'Wonderwall' with the supporters after the match will become the most memorable picture of their 2026 World Cup campaign. Kane and Bellingham played a very important role when England secured a hard-fought 3-2 victory in the Round of 16. Less than two minutes after the first goal, captain Kane set up a pass, and Bellingham, the Real Madrid midfielder, scored the second consecutive goal, calming the home supporters. Then it was Kane's turn. When the team was reduced to 10 players after Jarrell Quansah received a red card, and Mexico was trying to get back into the game. Even under such pressure, the 32-year-old Kane easily scored from the penalty spot. Ultimately, that goal became the basis for victory. There are rarely players more reliable than him when it comes to taking penalties from 12 yards.

England has already advanced to the quarterfinals. In this tournament, England's future seems to depend on the form and impact shown by Kane and Bellingham on the field. On Saturday, in the match to be held in Miami, Norway's team, including Erling Haaland, will pose a tough challenge to Thomas Tuchel's England. But how much does England's ambition to win the World Cup depend on this excellent pair?

How much does England depend on this pair? The short answer is, a lot. Out of England's total of 11 goals in the World Cup, 10 were scored by these two. In the first match against Croatia, which ended in a 4-2 victory, Marcus Rashford scored another goal after coming on as a substitute. This means that Kane (six goals) and Bellingham (four goals) have contributed a remarkable 90.9 percent to the team's total attacking performance. This is much higher than any other team remaining in the competition.

In this regard, France, considered a title contender, is in second place with 78.6 percent. Kylian Mbappé (eight) and Ousmane Dembélé (five) have scored 12 goals out of France's total goals. England's 'expected goals' have contributions of 34.6 percent from Kane and 20.3 percent from Bellingham. Together, these two have created more than half of England's attacking threat (54.9 percent of total expected goals). Kane has taken 23.8 percent of England's total shots, and 31.3 percent of shots on target are in his name. Similarly, Bellingham has taken 28.1 percent of shots on target. This clarifies their importance to the team.

However, this is not the first time England has been so dependent on two players for goals in a major tournament. In the 1990 World Cup, out of England's eight goals, Gary Lineker scored four and David Platt scored three. This means their contribution to the total goals was 87.5 percent. A similar situation occurred in the European Championship six years later. At that time, out of the team's eight goals, Alan Shearer (five) and Teddy Sheringham (two) had scored seven goals. On both those occasions, England's journey ended in the semifinals. Both times they were defeated by Germany in penalty shootouts.

However, there is another perspective to the dependence on Kane and Bellingham. Argentina and Norway are heavily dependent on their key players. Lionel Messi has scored 70 percent of Argentina's goals and Erling Haaland has scored 63.6 percent of Norway's goals. Here, England's attacking responsibility is shared by a dangerous partnership.

• Kane and Bellingham's chemistry on and off the field

Kane and Bellingham have played a total of 172 matches for England. Bellingham is almost 10 years younger than Kane. However, the Real Madrid attacking midfielder already has six years of international experience. Bayern Munich striker Kane debuted for England 11 years ago. It is due to this experience and their superstar status that they have become part of England's leadership group. They have experience playing in big games and big clubs. Both these players also speak openly in the dressing room.

Kane is grateful for Bellingham's presence in the leadership group. On the other hand, Bellingham praises Kane for always supporting him publicly. The way they celebrate each other's goals after scoring highlights their deep relationship. We saw this in the match against Mexico as well. Both posed with their arms outstretched in Bellingham's trademark style for the spectators.

Most importantly, their chemistry on the field is excellent. Bellingham's runs create a lot of space for Kane. Captain Kane is also selfless in creating scoring opportunities for his teammates. This was also evident in the match against Mexico.