Harry Kane missed a crucial late penalty as England were beaten by France
(Picture: REUTERS)Harry Kane put his penalty miss simply down to “execution” as England were knocked out of the World Cup by France.
The England captain converted one penalty after the break, to draw the Three Lions level following Aurelien Tchouameni’s first-half strike, and shortly after Olivier Giroud’s header, he had a second chance to equalise from the spot.
On that occasion he could not hit the target though, blazing the penalty well over the bar, and that proved to be the crucial moment in the 2-1 defeat as the Three Lions’ run in Qatar came to an end.
There was plenty of talk in the build-up over Kane facing his club team-mate Hugo Lloris and whether that would complicate him taking spot-kicks, but the Tottenham forward insisted that was not to blame for the painful miss.
“I’m always someone who prepares for if I get one penalty in a game, two penalties,” Kane told ITV.
“I always have an idea of what I want to do. I can’t fault my preparation or anything like that, or the details.
“It was just the execution on the night. The first one was great, and the second one I just didn’t quite hit it how I wanted to.
“That’s something I’m going to have to take on the chin. It will hurt for sure. The whole game will hurt, because we had full belief in what we’re trying to achieve.
“As the captain I’ll take that, but I couldn’t be prouder of the boys.”
England have impressed in the last three major tournaments, only to fall short on each occasion, and for all the talent in the squad the wait to get over the line goes on.
Kane admitted it was probably the lowest moment of his career, as England missed out on a semi-final clash against Morocco.
“A World Cup is every four years, it’s not like we have another opportunity next year,” Kane said.
“It came down to a small detail that I’ll take responsibility for.”
He added: “It will hurt for everyone involved but that’s football, that’s sport.”
