England captain Harry Kane said he would have to live with the penalty kick that missed his team’s exit from the World Cup quarter-finals against defending champions France on Saturday.
The striker had equalized with his team at Al Bayt Stadium with a successful penalty that brought him a match with Wayne Rooney’s record tally of 53 goals for England.
Ole: Kane’s penalty eliminates England as France reach the semi-finals
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Kane then had the chance to make it 2-2 late on after Mason Mount was intercepted by Theo Hernandez in the area, but this time, his effort volleyed high over the bar.
After the final whistle, Kane dropped to his knee and stared at the ground before tearfully walking away to be comforted by England manager Gareth Southgate after losing 2-1.
“I’m not someone who thinks too much about it; I prepare for the same whether I get one penalty or two penalties in the game,” Kane said of facing his Tottenham Hotspur teammate Hugo Lloris for the second time.
“I couldn’t fault my preparation or the details before the game; I didn’t feel any different. I felt confident taking it but not executing it the way I wanted to.”
“Of course, this is something I have to live with and take my chin in,” he added. “But all we can do is be proud of each other and know the team is in a really good place for the future.”
Kane’s misses will be added to some of England’s famous penalty failures in major tournaments as they are hounded by the likes of Southgate, Chris Waddle and Stuart Pearce, although each occurred in penalties rather than in normal play.
“As you would expect, he’s very low key, but he has nothing to beat himself up for,” Southgate said of Kane. “We are positioned as a team because of his leadership and goals.”
Kane’s penalty kick in the second half was his fourth successful conversion in a World Cup finals, not including penalties, that is more than any other player in World Cup history.
France’s victory means that it will play Morocco in the semi-finals, after Morocco achieved a historic victory over Portugal earlier today.
