Gareth Southgate makes Harry Kane admission after Euros final defeat

He has lifted the lid

After a disappointing defeat, England fans and the media have often expressed that Kane was far from at his best, leaving to ponder a decision as to whether he should have started the final game.

Now Southgate has revealed that Kane was in fact struggling with an injury coming into the tournament and has struggled with tiredness.

Thanks to his three goals the Bayern Munich striker was one of six to share the Golden Boot, but his displays were certainly not of his usual standard.

In fact, in five of the seven matches played Kane was substituted.

As the tournament advanced he often came off earlier than usual with Ollie Watkins replacing him in the 61st minute of the Berlin final.

Insisting he was pleased with Kane's performances, Southgate also admitted he had been carrying problems physically:

"Harry has come into the tournament having had an injury at the end of the season," he stated in his post-match press conference.

"He's played a lot of minutes. We've tried to manage those minutes as well as we could. He's led the team incredibly well.

"We've lost a lot of leadership from the group with the injuries to Jordan Henderson and Harry Maguire, so a lot has fallen on Harry's shoulders.

"He's done that exceptionally well, we just felt that we needed pressure on their centre-backs and to have the options of a runner in behind, which was why we put Ollie Watkins on when we did."

The England skipper addressed fans on X following the heartbreaking loss: