England are out of the World Cup at the quarter-final stage yet again. And this time, they cannot fault their luck. They didn’t play poorly against France, but their captain and number one goalscorer, Harry Kane missed the ultimate chance – he skied the penalty late on.Asked if the fact that he’d already converted one spot kick earlier in the game disrupted him in taking the second, Kane told reporters that he always prepares to take multiple kicks.”I’m always someone who prepares for getting one or two penalties in a game. I always have an idea of what I want to do. I can’t fault my preparation or anything like that, and it was just the execution on the night. The first pen was great, the second one, I didn’t quite hit it how I wanted to. I have to take it on the chin. It will hurt for sure, and the whole game will hurt. As the captain, I’ll take that, but I couldn’t be prouder of the boys.”If Harry Kane had spent less time peddling stupid political messages and more time practising penalties, might not have been sent England home early.Less armbands, more football! #England #Qatar2022 #FIFAWorldCup pic.twitter.com/WdSUlzOCSA— Robert Carter (@Bob_cart124) December 11, 2022 The Three Lions travelled to Qatar with unusually little hype. They played well, and had they beaten France, it wouldn’t have been undeserved. The young guns Jude Bellingham, Bukayo Saka, Mason Mount and Declan Rice, stepped up and ensured a bright future for the team – according to Kane, at least.”It comes down to a small detail I’ll take responsibility for. I’m not worried about the team and how it will impact them. We have some great talent.”Kane and the England players hope national coach Gareth Southgate will remain in his role at least until the next European Championship, set to take place in 2024 in Germany.”Staying on as manager is down to Gareth. We’ve loved having him as a manager, I think he’s been incredible, when you see where he’s taken us from to where we are now, it’s an amazing leap. I think we all hope he stays, but that’s his decision, obviously he’ll go away and review that, but before we know it we’ll be getting ready for a Euros.”##NAJAVA_MECA_6881967##The manager himself wouldn’t reveal anything regarding his future, however.”After every tournament, we’ve sat down and reviewed and reflected. So we need a bit of time to make sure everyone makes the right decisions.”
