Painful Harry Kane calls England’s Euro 2024 final defeat to Spain ‘very painful’ and describes Mikel Oyarzabal’s late winner in Berlin The hurt feeling behind the ball.
Spain were deserved winners but that was of little consolation to the England captain, who once again produced a below-par performance and was replaced by Ollie Watkins just after the hour mark. The country is still waiting for a first men’s Championship win since 1966 after Gareth Southgate once again refused to reveal information about his future.
“It’s very tough to lose in a final,” said Kane, who had to watch from the sidelines as Cole Palmer’s brilliant finish gave England no real hope until the 86th minute. “We did a really good job of getting back into the game, but we couldn’t capitalize on that momentum going forward. We couldn’t quite keep the ball and we got punished for it in the end. It’s just as painful as it gets in football.
“It’s been a tough journey. We’ve done a really good job to get here. We really want to do it for ourselves, but also for the fans and all the people who have always believed in us.
There is ample evidence that England’s players desperately need Southgate, who is considering whether to extend his eight-year tenure to lead them towards the 2026 World Cup. “We love the manager but it’s his decision and now is not the time to talk about it,” Kane told the BBC. “It’s up to him, he will go away and think about it. Now we are just injured.
Southgate was noncommittal when asked whether a second European Cup final defeat in three years would leave him with more motivation. “I completely understand the issue,” he said. “But I need to have these conversations with important people behind the scenes and won’t discuss this publicly first. There’s no doubt England have some fantastic young players and many in this squad will be there in two, four, six years. Stay after the year.
Southgate admitted England had “underperformed” and stressed they should hold their heads high after a sometimes chaotic final period of the game. “I’m very proud of this group of players and they couldn’t be more proud of me or this country,” he said.
“This team has done the country proud, reaching the final away from home for the first time. A second final in two games is unbelievable. They have played 14 games in the last two European Championships and won the It was an unbelievable game to lose in the final minutes of the 14th, but none of that matters at the moment.
Despite sharing the Golden Boot with three goals, Kane’s performance in the bittersweet honours was markedly underwhelming. The goalscoring record is well below his top scorer. “Physically, it was tough on him,” he said. “He came into the game in a short amount of time and wasn’t at the level we all hoped for.
“He led the team very well. We lost a lot of leadership due to injuries [Jordan] Henderson and [Harry] Maguire has a lot on his shoulders.
As well as Kane’s struggles, England also have some physical issues to deal with, including pressure in extra time against Slovakia and Switzerland. Southgate said they had finally calculated the cost of those efforts.
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“A lot of our players missed the end of the season entering training camp,” he said. “We managed to get Luke [Shaw] He completed 90 minutes after not playing for four months. Kobe [Mainoo] Very well done. Jude [Bellingham] We were about to take off because he had cramps.
“When you don’t have the ball, the physical injuries are exacerbated. One less day has a lot of disadvantages for us. [to prepare] And our overtime game.
In the end, Southgate conceded that the superior team had won. “Losing the final was very difficult,” he said. “Congratulations to Spain. They are the best team in the tournament and the best team tonight.
Southgate’s sentiments were echoed by FA chief executive Mark Bullingham. “We came to Germany to win games and we didn’t want it to end like this,” he said. “We were all hurt tonight, but we should be extremely proud.”
