Kane bluntly stated that England's defensive tactics after taking the lead led to their elimination.

In the World Cup semi-final, England suffered a heavy blow in the second half. Although Anthony Gordon opened the scoring in the 55th minute to give his team the lead, Argentina came from behind to win 2-1 with two goals from Enzo Fernandez and Lautaro Martinez in the final seven minutes.

This defeat cost England their first ever appearance in the Men's World Cup final since 1966, and their first time reaching the final outside of their home country. Their conservative tactics after taking the lead became the focus of post-match discussion.

England captain Harry Kane, who has scored 6 goals in the tournament so far, admitted in an interview that the team's performance after taking the lead was too passive. He said, "After we took a 1-0 lead, it seemed like we just wanted to hold onto the win."

"But in a game of this level, that's clearly not enough. I feel bad for my teammates, the coaching staff and the fans because we played very well for most of the game."

Kane emphasized that the entire team had put in tremendous effort and sweat to get to this point, and it was very sad to be eliminated in this way. After the goal, England struggled with man-to-man marking against Argentina's relentless attacks, and despite their best efforts, they couldn't hold on until the end.

Speaking about the team's future, Kane said, "We had many great moments during this World Cup and showed our ability to handle pressure and adjust our mentality."

"The team's return to the semifinals means we are very close to the finals. All we need to do now is find that missing piece in the final stages of the tournament."

Image source: Internet