‘There’s no hiding’: Harry Kane takes ‘responsibility’ for penalty miss after England’s FIFA World Cup 2022 exit

England crashed out of the ongoing FIFA World Cup 2022, losing 1-2 against England in their quarter-final fixture at the Al Bayt Stadium in Qatar. In what turned out to be a closely-fought encounter, France took the lead in the 17th-minute after a long range goal by Aurelien Tchouameni. Harry Kane equalised for England in the 54th-minute through a penalty, and then Oliver Giroud restored his side’s lead with a header in the 78th-minute. Kane got a chance to equalise once again as England were awarded another penalty, but the Tottenham forward could sky his effort above the crossbar.

After England’s exit, captain Harry Kane took to social media with a special message for fans and he thanked everyone for their support. “Absolutely gutted. We’ve given it everything and it’s come down to a small detail which I take responsibility for. There’s no hiding from it, it hurts and it’ll take some time to get over it but that’s part of sport”, he wrote.

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“Now it’s about using the experience to be mentally and physically stronger for the next challenge. Thanks for all the support throughout the tournament – it means a lot”, he further added.

This is also the seventh time England have been eliminated from the quarter-final stages of the World Cup, more than any other side in the tournament’s history. Meanwhile, France have reached the World Cup semi-final for the seventh time, while this is the first time they have done so in consecutive editions of the tournament since 1982/1986.

After the match, England manager Gareth Southgate also gave a massive update about his future. “I’ve got to be sure that whatever decision I make is the right one. I think it’s right to take a bit of time to do that because I know in the past how my feelings have fluctuated in the immediate aftermath of tournaments”, he said.