Taking responsibility for England’s World Cup quarter-final elimination at the hands of France, Harry Kane said: “I’ll take it on the chin and of course it hurts now, and it will hurt for a long time, but that’s part of being a captain and a leader on the team.
Having reached the semi-finals in 2018 and then finishing runners-up at last year’s European Championships, Gareth Southgate’s men were confident of a semi-final ticket.
Despite falling behind with a goal early in the first half, England equalized through a Kane penalty, but Olivier Giroud put the French back in front.
Kane had another chance to equalize from the penalty spot, but shot over the crossbar, causing many fans to put their hands over their heads and watch in silence.
His miss came with just seven minutes of regular time remaining, resulting in a painful 2–1 defeat for England.
“It’s a really tough night to take,” Kane said after the loss.
“I am devastated, the team is devastated. We had full confidence that we could achieve something special in this World Cup, but it all came down to small details.”
“I thought on the night we had the best chances and best spells in the game. It all comes down to execution. As captain, I take it with my chin and responsibility for missing the penalty.
“It’s hard to say for sure, but I can be proud of the group, proud of each other for what we’ve done. This will hurt for a while, but we’ll dust ourselves off to be ready for the future.”
Southgate said captain Kane shouldn’t blame himself for missing the penalty, saying: “For me, we win and lose as a team.
“We entered a couple of goals and missed some opportunities.
“He’s been incredible for us and he’s very reliable for us in those situations. We wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for the number of goals he’s scored for us.”
England have been told they can keep their “heads up” despite losing to France.
The premier says captain Harry Kane and the rest of the team “gave it their all” but “it wasn’t meant to be”.
While the Prince and Princess of Wales say they are “gutted” but are “very proud” of the team and staff.
France took the lead on 16 minutes when Aurelien Tchouameni hit a ferocious shot between Jude Bellingham’s legs and past Jordan Pickford’s dive.
England goalkeeper Jordan Pickford fails to stop a shot on goal by Frenchman Aurelien Tchouameni. Photo: AP
England claimed that Bukayo Saka was fouled in the build-up, but despite protests the goal was allowed to stand.
And soon after there were loud calls for an England penalty when Kane went down under a challenge on the edge of the box, but after a VAR check, play was abandoned.
England seemed to regain control in the second half and on 51 minutes Saka burst into the box and was brought down, with the referee awarding an instant penalty.
Kane fired into the top corner to level the Three Lions and equal Wayne Rooney’s record as England’s all-time top goalscorer.
But in the 78th minute Giroud beat Harry Maguire in the air to power a header past Pickford to Antoine Griezmann’s cross.
France will now play against Morocco, after the victory of the Atlas Lions over Portugal on Saturday afternoon.
