Harry Kane insists England team-mates must stop talking about winning major silverware and focus on finally finishing the job after latest World Cup heartbreak
Harry Kane has told his England team-mates that talk of taking the final step towards silverware must stop and it is time to get the job done.
Thomas Tuchel’s squad still appeared in a state of shock as they left Miami after Saturday’s absurd 6-4 victory over third-placed France at the World Cup.
The win secured their best ever result on foreign soil, but the scars from their agonizing defeat against Argentina in the semi-finals are still evident.
Kane believes the pattern of defeat will continue for weeks to come and revealed that the group has been developing theories on how best to deal with certain scenarios against top opposition since losing the European Championship final to Spain in 2024.
“Argentina’s last 30 minutes are not the team we want,” said Kane. ‘We’ve spent a lot of time over the last two years talking about this situation, attacking those moments. In the end, we still lost.
‘It’s easy to go and talk about it. We need to get better at actually being in these situations.
Harry Kane asks his England team-mates to prove they can win a big tournament like the World Cup
‘We must learn, we must develop. The coach will improve himself thanks to what he has learned. I can talk all I want, but ultimately the important thing is to show it next time we are in the same situation.’
Kane insisted the Nations League campaign, which will see them face Spain, Croatia and the Czech Republic from September, should better equip England ahead of the Euros.
He showed his support for Tuchel amid fierce criticism from fans and pundits for the way he managed the one-goal win against Argentina.
“The enthusiasm he has, the emotion he brings, the tactical experience he has,” added Kane. ‘That doesn’t mean you’ll always get it right. We want to do it right on the biggest events, and that’s what he expects from himself. He’s a great coach.
‘This was his first major tournament. He will learn a lot from players, situations, pressures and travel. And the players will learn a lot from last night.’
The fact that players were discussing their failure to complete the biggest games before Tuchel’s arrival suggests they will take some of the blame internally.
Tuchel appeared hurt by the widespread condemnation, claiming in his first media conference since Argentina that he felt like England had been knocked out of the group stage without a win.
England suffered a heartbreaking defeat against Argentina in the World Cup semi-final.
“He not only gave belief to the players, but he also gave belief to the country that this is our year,” the England captain said. ‘That’s why it hurts more than other years because everyone believed we had gone all the way. Everyone needs to process this. He needs to process this himself.
‘We’re still in the grieving phase, the emotional phase, and we’ll be in that phase for the next few weeks.
‘Very difficult. I think the fans are behind the team and the manager. When something like this happens, it’s very emotional, and rightly so. We’ve all been England fans when we wished we could do this or that, but it just didn’t happen. This will die naturally.
‘We have experienced many good things, we have overcome many difficult situations. The band are incredible, the best UK band I’ve ever been a part of in terms of unity. The boss was also a big part of creating this.’
