Kane reflects on World Cup exit

Harry Kane was disappointed as England’s FIFA World Cup 2026 journey came to an end and said the players have everything in their run to the semi-finals.

The Three Lions were beaten 2-1 by Argentina in the semi-final in Atlanta tonight.

Thomas Tuchel’s team will face France on Saturday 18 July (10pm BST kick-off) in the third-place play-off game.

“I'm just gutted,” said kane. “Gutted for the boys, gutted for everyone. The England staff, the fans.

“We played a good game for the large majority of it. When we went 1-0 up, we seemed to just try and hold on which at this level isn't enough.

“Just gutted because we have worked so hard to be here. The lads have given every last bit of running, sweat, blood, tears. To fall short like we did today is just gutting.”

The Three Lions captain reflected on the tie which saw England strike first in the second half before Argentina turned it around.

“We struggled to get pressure on the ball,” he continued. “First half and start of the second half we pressed them well. We put them under loads of pressure, especially high up the pitch which allowed us to win balls, control the game a little bit better.

“After the goal, whether that was them putting more players forward or us not being able to match them man for man. It was just wave after wave and we were trying to hold on. Lads were putting blocks in but in the end it wasn't enough.

“The boys are always ready for any moment in the game. When we went ahead, the messaging was to go again and get another goal.

“Then obviously when they scored their two goals, trying to get something but we couldn't quite get the momentum back in the game.”

And the skipper looked back on the tournament as a whole, as England progressed through the group stage and the knockouts to reach the final four.

“We had a lot of good moments in this tournament, a lot of good games, another semi-final,” Kane explained.

“We talk about knocking on the door, we are close. We just need to find that missing piece in the final stage of the tournament.

“These tournaments take it out of you, so much effort, pressure and mentality and we have shown a lot of that the 6-7 weeks we have been together, but we are just missing that final piece.”