England captain Harry Kane has broken his silence following the team's World Cup exit, expressing his profound disappointment with the 2-1 defeat against Argentina in Atlanta. Kane described the loss as "hard to take" and lamented the "missing final piece of the jigsaw" that has prevented England from reaching major finals.
In a social media post, the Bayern Munich striker, who scored six goals during the tournament, conveyed the "empty feeling" after falling short in a match where England held a lead. "We've given everything over these last 7 weeks and to fall short is hard to take!" he stated. "I know the expectations are high and rightly so, we’ve been knocking on the door for 8 years now but again are missing that final piece of the jigsaw!"
Kane emphasized the necessity for the team to learn from the experience and strive for improvement. "That’s where we have to go away, process it and find a way to get better," he wrote. He expressed pride in his teammates and staff for their efforts throughout the tournament, acknowledging the "tough games and tough environments that we have overcome."
"Going for glory doesn’t always mean you will get it. You have to fight for it, get knocked down, pick yourself up and go again and that’s what we will do, there’s no other way but to keep believing and keeping pushing," Kane added. He extended thanks to the fans for their unwavering support, both in stadiums and back home, as well as to the team and staff.
Reflecting on the match itself, Kane admitted to feeling "gutted" for everyone involved. He noted that after taking a 1-0 lead, the team seemed to adopt a defensive stance, which he believes was insufficient at the elite level. "We played a good game for the large majority of it," he said in a post-match interview. "Once we went 1-0 up we seemed to just try and hold on which at this level is just not enough, so I'm gutted."
Kane concluded by reiterating the team's commitment to learning from the outcome. "As always Win or lose, we learn and go again!"