Harry Kane said England fell short after suffering a 2-1 defeat to Argentina in the 2026 FIFA World Cup semi-final despite taking the lead, www.aclsports.com reports.
The England captain said his team controlled large parts of the contest and deserved to be ahead after Anthony Gordon opened the scoring but struggled to keep the ball and apply pressure as Argentina fought back in the closing stages.
“We’d done so well for that kind of 60 minutes. We scored; we deserved to be ahead. And then for one reason or another, we struggled to keep the ball, we struggled to put pressure on the ball, and it just allowed them to create more momentum, it created more attacks for them in our final third,” Kane said after the defeat.
Kane admitted the inability of England to manage games when ahead has been a recurring issue in recent major tournaments.
“It’s the normal mindset to try and hang on and try and hang on to the one-goal lead. But, with still 20 minutes plus stoppage time to go, it was always going to be a long time. We’re going to have to watch the game back and find out exactly how we can improve in those situations. But it’s been probably the missing piece now for the last four or five tournaments.” he said.
Kane admitted the defeat was difficult to take while thanking supporters for their backing throughout the tournament.
“We know how much it would have meant to reach the final and have that day together. And look, we gave everything. Every last blood, sweat, tears, whatever it took, we tried to get us into that final and give the fans something to cheer about. But yeah, in the end, we fell short,” Kane said.
The 32-year-old said the squad was devastated after the final whistle, with little to say immediately after the loss.
“There’s not much to say. For now, everyone has to process what’s just happened. Everyone’s gutted,” Kane said.
“I’m gutted for all the boys, all the staff, everyone behind the scenes, because we know how much everyone puts in to being a successful national team.”
Kane refused to rule out featuring at another World Cup, insisting he will continue to make decisions about his international future year by year.
“It’s too early to talk about that. You know me as a person, it’s always just about taking it year by year and how I feel,” he said.
“The England national team is my pride and joy. It’s what I love to do most, more than anything.”
Kane also praised Lionel Messi’s influence after the Argentina captain helped his side turn the game around in the closing stages.
“For large parts of the game, we dealt with him really well. But as always with the most dangerous players in the world, when they have the ball in the final third, they can create something. And he done that at the end today,” Kane said.
England will now turn their attention to the third-place play-off, where they will face France after falling short in their bid to reach the World Cup final.
