Wayne Rooney hailed "hero" Harry Kane after the England captain scored twice as the team came from behind to beat Congo DR 2-1 in their round-of-32 World Cup clash.
The Bayern Munich striker led from the front in the second half with a header to cancel out Brian Cipenga's seventh-minute opener before a brilliant strike in the 86th minute set up a round-of-16 encounter with co-hosts Mexico.
"His header was brilliant but the second goal was incredible and he is just such a top player," Rooney, whose England goalscoring record was taken by Kane in 2023, told the BBC.
"All the best players in the world are performing at this World Cup, he is England's superstar, he is the hero for us.
"There are few things that they need to clear up: I wasn't too sure about midfield and defence in that performance but the main thing in football is you get through and Harry Kane has done it again for us."
Former Manchester City defender Micah Richards agreed, adding that Tuchel was right to build his side around the centre-forward.
"Tuchel has based his team around Kane because he is a genuine superstar," he said.
"He is the one who has stepped up when they needed him the most. He is an absolute hero."
Former England goalkeeper Joe Hart was also full of praise for Kane, but said the performance in general was a concern.
"He (Kane) knows that wasn't a good performance and he knew they would have to dig deep," he said.
"They have got the job done in difficult circumstances; their captain has come through. They have got through it but the debrief going into the next couple of days will be massive."
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Kane took his tournament tally to five, one behind Kylian Mbappé and Lionel Messi, level with Erling Haaland and one ahead of Vinícius Júnior and Ousmane Dembélé, prompting Hart to say: "That is a World Cup you sign up for, those names performing at the top level."
Rooney was impressed with the quality of Kane's second, finding space in a crowded area to score with a powerful shot to beat the keeper at his left-hand post.
"Your muscle memory, you know where you are on the pitch, the little fractions," Rooney said of Kane's set-up.
"He will have been in this position so many times in training and in games he knows his surroundings and the defenders around him, he knows where the space is to put his touch and as soon as his touch goes into that space he knows exactly what he is doing.
"He starts it outside the post and whips it back in, he hits it absolutely perfect."
The Prince of Wales posted a tongue-in-cheek tribute to England's matchwinner, with William writing on Instagram along with a winking emoji: "Never in doubt ... Well done England! Onto the next! W."
However, aside from the praise for Kane, Rooney said he was worried about another underwhelming performance.
"For me there are big concerns," he added.
"We are all delighted England have gone through but in particular when England lose the ball they are so open, against a better team I think we are in big trouble if we don't sort that out.
"The connection isn't great between the backline and midfield, full-backs are struggling, [Noni] Madueke struggled -- there are just no connections and big gaps in the middle of the pitch and that is a big worry for me.
"He [Tuchel] really needs to look at that otherwise we will go out."