World Cup 2026: Dan Burn says England’s semi-final loss will ‘haunt’ him
England have been defeated in the semi-finals of two of the last three men’s World Cups and were defeated in the finals of the 2021 and 2024 European Championships.
England captain Harry Kane said: “There’s not much to say; everyone is gutted.”
“When you get that close, 10 minutes away and everything slips away from you like that, obviously kids are devastated.
“We did very well for 60 minutes. We scored and deserved to go ahead, then we struggled to keep the ball, we struggled to put pressure on the ball and that allowed them to create more momentum and chances in the last quarter.
“We’ll have to figure out how we can improve in those situations. That’s probably been the missing piece for the last four or five tournaments.”
Bayern Munich striker Kane has scored six goals this World Cup and could still win the Golden Boot award; However, both Argentine goal scorer Lionel Messi and French Kylian Mbappe have scored eight goals.
Kane, who turns 33 later this month, rejected questions about whether he would still be available for the 2030 World Cup.
“It’s too early to talk about that; for me it’s about improving from year to year,” Kane said.
“The national team is my pride and joy, it’s what I love doing most.
“Four years is a long way away and I’m 33 in the summer but as you can see I’m with Leo [Messi]still performing at the highest level [at 39]. For now, it’s about getting over another tough loss.”
Like Kane, Jude Bellingham scored six goals for England in this tournament.
Real Madrid’s midfielder said, “The boys did everything they could throughout the tournament; I can’t fault the effort and the fight.”
“This is the life of a footballer at this level. The more beautiful the journey, the more heartbreaking the end. I’m really proud of all my teammates; they’ve transformed tremendously in the last few weeks.
“I wanted to be part of an England team that finally did it and finally got it over the line. It’s really heartbreaking to be telling fans the same things they’ve heard for years.”
