He came to his captain’s aide
Jordan Pickford ushered away television cameras from a distraught Harry Kane after the final whistle of England’s heartbreaking defeat to France.
The Three Lions fell to a 2-1 defeat to Les Bleus in the quarter finals of the World Cup, with captain Kane missing a later penalty that would have brought his side level.
The striker had bagged from the spot earlier in the second half to equalise for England, but Olivier Giroud’s header then put the reigning champions back ahead.
Kane was understandably inconsolable after the final whistle, but received the support of all of his England teammates.
In particular, goalkeeper Pickford came to his captain’s aide, as he strode towards him and pleaded with a cameraman on the pitch to move away from Kane, who was on his haunches, head in hands.
Pickford continued to reason with the camera operators, asking for “a bit of respect please,” before pictures from the feed cut away to focus on other players.
Everyone needs a team-mate like Jordan Pickford ❤️#BBCWorldCup #BBCFootball https://t.co/4ghnUZmS6N
— Match of the Day (@BBCMOTD) December 10, 2022
Kane later spoke to ITV, and said he had no regrets about his “preparation or anything like that” for his second penalty.
He told the broadcaster: “I’m always someone who prepares, if I get one penalty in a game or two penalties, I always have an idea of what I want to do.
“So yeah, I can’t fault my preparation or anything like that, the details, it was just the execution on the night.
“The first one was great, and the second one [I] just didn’t quite hit it how I wanted to. That’s something I’m going to have to take on the chin and it’ll hurt for sure.
“The whole game will hurt because we had belief in what we were trying to achieve, but as the captain I’ll take that. I couldn’t be prouder of the boys.
“A World Cup is every four years, it’s not like we have another opportunity next year. It is a long time to wait, but like I said I’m proud of the boys. We had a great camp, a great World Cup and like I said, it come down to a small detail that I’ll take responsibility for.”
"We probably created the better chances!" 🏴
England captain Harry Kane speaks to @gabrielclarke05 following England's loss to France… 🎤#ITVFootball | #FIFAWorldCup pic.twitter.com/oMx0uaGxK8
— ITV Football (@itvfootball) December 10, 2022
And manager Gareth Southgate was quick to support and defend his striker, saying that they “win and lose as a team.”
He said: “For me, we win and lose as a team. We conceded two and missed a few chances.
“Harry’s been incredible for us, so reliable in those situations. We wouldn’t be here but for the number of goals he’s scored for us. We were here to win the tournament. We had the belief we could and with the performance tonight against the reigning champions we’ve got a team that could have done it.
“At key moments when you play in a high-level game there will be chances created. In most of the big moments we were in the right place. We had more shots on goal, their keeper made a couple of good saves but it’s a game of fine margins.”
Related links:
- Roy Keane’s off-air comment about Harry Kane penalty miss was tough but true
- Sam Matterface makes incredible, disrespectful comment after Kane’s missed penalty
- England fans fume at refereeing decisions during France game
