ATLANTA : England captain Harry Kane said his side paid the price for trying to protect their lead after conceding two late goals in a 2-1 defeat by Argentina in the World Cup semi-final on Wednesday.
England looked set to reach their first World Cup final since 1966 after Anthony Gordon gave them the lead in the 55th minute, but Enzo Fernandez equalised five minutes from time before Lautaro Martinez headed the winner in stoppage time.
“We played a good game for the large majority of it. Once we went 1-0 up, we seemed to just try and hold on,” Kane told the BBC.
“At this level, it’s not enough, so just gutted, gutted because we’ve worked so hard to be here and the lads have given every last bit of running, sweat, blood, tears, whatever it is.”
Kane said Argentina’s sustained pressure eventually overwhelmed England after the opening goal.
“After the goal, whether it was them putting more men forward or us just not being able to match them man for man, it just was wave after wave and we were trying to hold on as we were putting blocks in,” he said.
“But in the end, it wasn’t enough.”
The defeat extended England’s wait for a second World Cup title after they fell short once again in the knockout stages.
Kane said the team had hoped to build on Gordon’s opener rather than sit back.
“The boys are always ready for any moment in the game. When we went ahead, the messaging was to go again and get another goal,” he said.
“Then obviously once they scored their two goals, it was to try and find something, but we couldn’t quite get the momentum back in the game.”
Despite the disappointment, Kane said England could take encouragement from another deep run at a major tournament.
“We had a lot of good moments in this tournament. A lot of good games, another semi-final,” he said.
“We talk about knocking on the door. We’re close, we just need to find that missing piece in the final stage of the tournament.
“Just gutted for the boys, gutted for everyone, the team, the staff, the fans.”
