Southgate on Kane:
“Not the level we had hoped for”
A bitter evening for England superstar Harry Kane. The striker missed out on being crowned European champion with the "Three Lions" and must therefore continue to wait for his first title. England team boss Gareth Southgate noted that the Bayern professional had not traveled to Germany in top form.
"This is a missed opportunity. It's not easy to get to these finals. You have to take it when it comes - and we didn't do that again. It's extremely painful and will hurt for a long time to come," said the 30-year-old goalscorer after the 2-1 defeat on Sunday evening in Berlin's Olympic Stadium.
Another lost final
The Three Lions, led by Kane, had already lost a final on penalties to Italy at their home ground of Wembley Stadium in London at Euro 2021. England have been waiting for their next title at a major soccer tournament since the 1966 World Cup.
Kane, who scored goals for England and at club level, first at Tottenham Hotspur and since last summer at FC Bayern, continues to have a stigma attached to him: He can't seem to win titles with his teams. He also ended his debut season with the German record champions without winning any silverware. The fact that he, like five other players with three goals each, can call himself the top scorer at the European Championships is unlikely to be much consolation to Kane.
"Hard to cope with"
"To concede a goal so late is really hard to take," said England's record goalscorer (66 goals for the national team) about the Spanish winner scored by substitute Mikel Oyarzabal (86th), which he watched from the bench. Kane was substituted by coach Gareth Southgate after just one hour. According to data provider Opta, Kane had only one touch of the ball in the opposition penalty area in his two European Championship finals in 2021 and 2024.
Earlier in the tournament, Kane had already been criticized by the media for his largely disappointing performances. The center forward did not look completely fit, and the sometimes destructive style of play of the English team obviously did not help him either. "Physically, it was tough for him. He came into the tournament with too few games under his belt and hasn't quite reached the level we had all hoped for," explained Southgate.
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