ATLANTA — Harry Kane said it’s too soon to make a call on whether this is his last World Cup with England, adding that Tuesday’s 2-1 World Cup semifinal loss to Argentina was a similar story to other past near-misses.
England took the lead against Argentina in the 55th minute through Anthony Gordon, but switched to a more defensive formation, which led to Argentina getting plenty more time on the ball and they forced an equaliser in the 85th minute from Enzo Fernández.
And then two minutes into injury time, Lautaro Martínez scored the winner as he headed home a Lionel Messi cross.
“It’s a similar story to what’s happened in previous tournaments I feel like,” Kane said post-match. “We managed the momentum of the game so well for 60 minutes, we scored and got ahead.
“And then for one reason or another, we struggled to be on the ball, we struggle to put pressure on the ball and it allowed them to create more momentum and created more attacks for them in our final third.
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“It’s a normal mindset to try to hang on and try and hold on to the one-goal lead but you know, we’re still 20 minutes out so there’s going to be enough time there [for Argentina to score].
“We’ll have to watch the game back and find out exactly how we can improve in those situations, but it’s been probably the missing piece now for the last four tournaments.”
Kane led England into the 2018 World Cup where they fell in the semifinals. He then captained England to the final of the Euros in 2021, and to the quarterfinals of the World Cup in Qatar in 2022.
England then reached final of the Euros again two years later, where they were defeated by Spain.
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Kane will be 36 by the time the next World Cup ticks around, and said it’s far too soon to say whether this will be his last World Cup with England.
“Again, it’s too early to talk about that,” he said. “I’m taking it year by year and the national team is my pride and joy.
“It’s what I love to do most more than anything. Obviously four years is a long way away, I’m 33 this summer but it never ended with Leo there, he’s still performing at the highest level.
“I never want to put a limit on these things.
“I’ll address situations as they come, but for now it’s just about processing a tough loss.”
And Dan Burn, the England defender, said the team were too passive in the closing stages of the match.
When England were winning 1-0, Tuchel brought on Ezri Konsa for Anthony Gordon, Nico O’Reilly for Declan Rice and Burn for Reece James.
The changes saw England shift to a back five, and from there Argentina had the time and momentum to force the equaliser and winner.
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“Absolutely gutted,” Burn told the BBC.
“I thought we had the gameplan pretty well for the majority of it. But obviously, when we scored, we went a bit passive and dropped off and were ultimately punished for it.
“We probably conceded too many chances and if you do that, they are going to get goals.
“Disappointing from us. We have defended games better and seen them out. When you get that close to the World Cup final, that hurts.”
