Harry Kane has hinted that his World Cup career may not be over after England were beaten 2-1 by Argentina in a heartbreaking semi-final at the Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, with Lionel Messi producing two stoppage-time assists to deny the Three Lions a first World Cup final appearance since 1966.
Anthony Gordon fired England ahead in the 55th minute from Morgan Rogers’ delivery, and for 30 minutes the prospect of a date with Spain in Sunday’s final felt within reach.
But England’s decision to retreat into a five-man defensive block invited the pressure that eventually overwhelmed them. Enzo Fernandez levelled with a stunning long-range strike in the 85th minute after Messi rolled the ball back into his path, and then, in the second minute of stoppage time, Messi skipped to the byline and crossed for Lautaro Martinez to head home and complete another late World Cup comeback for the defending champions.
It was a moment that will live long in the memory of everyone inside the stadium, and not in the way England had hoped.
Kane, 32, cut a devastated figure in the aftermath, but when asked directly whether this had been his final World Cup, he left the door firmly open.
“You know me as a person. It’s always just about taking it year by year and how I feel,” the England captain said.
“The national team is my pride and joy. It’s what I love to do most, more than anything. Four years is a long way away, and as you see with Leo [Messi], he’s still performing at the highest level. I never want to put a limit on these things. I’ll address every situation as they come. For now, it’s just about processing another tough loss with this team.”
‘It’s been the missing piece for four or five tournaments’
The manner of the defeat was familiar enough to sting doubly. England have now led in the knockout stages of major tournaments on multiple occasions over the past decade, only to fail to see the game out. Kane did not shy away from that recurring theme.
“It’s a similar story to what’s happened in previous tournaments,” he said. “We struggled to keep the momentum of the game.
“We’d done so well for that first 15 minutes of the second half; 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 and created more attacks for them in our final third.
“It’s a normal mindset to try to hang on to a one-goal lead, but with 20 minutes plus injury time to go, it’s always going to be a long time. We’ll have to watch the game back and find out exactly how we can improve in those situations. It’s been probably the missing piece now for the last four or five tournaments.”
England’s decision to move to a five-man defensive line after Gordon’s goal drew criticism from pundits at full-time, and Kane acknowledged that the adjustment created problems of its own.
“There are always going to be these discussions when it doesn’t quite go your way. We wanted to try to get more pressure on the wide areas with the five at the back and virtually an extra man to deal with crosses.
“But we still couldn’t quite get pressure on Argentina, and then whenever we cleared the ball or won the ball back, we couldn’t keep the ball enough. That’s a big part of it as well: to try to shift the momentum and finish the game off with a second goal. It’s hard to process it all right now. We’ll have to look as a group. We win and lose together, and that’s the way it goes.”
‘It’s been the missing piece for four or five tournaments’
Kane reserved particular praise for the England supporters who had made the trip to Atlanta and those watching back home.
“There’s not much to say for now. Everyone has to process what’s happened, everyone’s gutted,” he said. “I’m gutted for all the boys, all the staff, everyone behind the scenes, because we know how much everyone puts into being a successful national team.
“When you’re so close, 10-plus minutes away, and it slips out of your hands like that, the lads are devastated. We just have to take it on the chin. It’s the only thing we can do against a great Argentina team, and then we go away and try and improve.
“Big thanks to the fans who have travelled. We know how much people have given up to be here and support us, and how much it’s cost. For every game we’ve had, the support has been incredible. I know back home, the fans have been totally behind us, and we’re devastated for them as well.
“We know how much it means to them. We know how much it would have meant to reach a final and have that day together. We gave everything: every last blood, sweat, tears, whatever it took, we tried to get into that final and give the fans something to cheer about. We fell short.”
Pundits point to tactical errors
The BBC’s punditry team were united in their assessment that England’s decision to sit deep after taking the lead handed Argentina the control they needed.
Wayne Rooney was disappointed.
“We got ourselves into such a good position and then we didn’t know what to do,” he said. “We sat back, we allowed Argentina to come onto us.
“They created a number of chances, put us under pressure, we couldn’t get out, and then we conceded. It was inevitable we’d concede the second.
“When you’re in a fight and you’re on top, you have to stay on top. We got 1-0 up and then we sat back and made changes. We went five at the back, six at the back. If you allow Messi and Argentina to come onto you, you’re asking for trouble.”
Micah Richards was equally critical of Thomas Tuchel’s tactical decisions while accepting that Messi’s quality was ultimately the decisive factor.
“Tuchel was brought in to be the difference. Tactically, we all thought he got it wrong in terms of the changes when we went to five at the back.
“We could have kept the momentum going and brought on wingers and gone a little higher up the pitch. We just didn’t have the answers. Let’s be honest about the whole situation: against Mexico, outstanding. Dig in against Norway.
“But really, England have not played well all tournament. They’ve had moments. They played so well against Argentina in that first half and stuck to the task defensively. But it was only going to be a moment that was going to win the game because we’d not been playing free-flowing football up until they scored.
“Argentina have Messi, the GOAT, the greatest of all time. When he looked like he wasn’t doing much in the first half, it could have been Bellingham, before it could have been Kane. But this is why he’s the king.
“He operated that right inside channel and said, OK, so you’ve crowded a little bit of the pitch, I’m going to show you what I can do from that right side.
“Two assists, and it’s just remarkable what he can do in terms of being able to walk around the pitch and then come alive when the ball comes to his feet. I’m devastated because in the first half, we really fought a good fight in terms of the intensity, the tackles.
“We made a real fight of it. But then this genius comes into play, and sometimes that is just the difference. We did it in the Croatia game, one of the goals they scored was when England were really deep.
“We’ve been saying all tournament that we need to get further up the pitch. Mexico and Norway didn’t quite have the quality on the day, but if you give Lionel Messi that time and space, you will get punished. That was the difference.”
