“You just put it over by a mile.”
Harry Kane stood in the mixed zone at the Al Bayt Stadium, on Saturday night, and answered every question that was put his way.
As England captain, these are part of the job requirements but many in the media would have understood if Kane had cried off or showed his face for a brief few moments. Instead, the Tottenham star took his place in front of a sizeable press huddle and tried to put his bitter disappointment into words.
Kane equalled Wayne Rooney’s English goalscoring record, of 53, with a second half penalty but missed a chance to break the record, and level the quarter final against France, when he blazed over another spot-kick. France held on to win 2-1 and England are heading for home.
“We had better spells,” Kane told reporters, “better chances but football comes down to small details – as the captain and the one who missed the penalty, I take responsibility for that.
“I can’t fault my preparation or the details before the game. I felt confident taking it, just didn’t execute it the way I wanted to. It will be something I have to live with and take on the chin.”
While Harry Kane, his England teammates and their supporters are wearing that defeat all through today, and the coming days, the mood in France is jubilant. Even more so after their media started sharing footage from an old Comic Relief video Kane did with former England outhalf Jonny Wilkinson.
Harry Kane of England reacts after missing a penalty against Hugo Lloris of France. (Photo by Julian Finney/Getty Images)Wilkinson’s penalty tips for Harry Kane
Back in 2018, Jonny Wilkinson and Harry Kane teamed up with comedian John Bishop for a Sports Relief video that aired on the BBC.
In the sketch, Kane is slotting penalties into the bottom corner when Wilkinson, a 2003 Rugby World Cup winner with England, shows up and declares, “No, no…you’ve got it all wrong.”
Wilkinson waves of Kane’s response that his penalty went in before setting up a kicking tee and hoofing the ball over the goal.
“That’s how you do it,” Wilkinson declares.
“You just put it over by a mile,” says Kane.
“Yes,” Wilkinson replies, “but that’s how I won a World Cup with England.”
Kane then steps up and launches his own penalty over the crossbar, eerily similar to his miss against France in the quarter final.
Leading French rugby outlet Rugbyrama shared the clip on Sunday and thanked Wilkinson, who played some club rugby with Toulon, for his kicking tips.
Hier soir, Harry Kane s'est rappelé d'une séance passée avec Sir Jonny Wilkinson. Pour le plus grand bonheur des Français ! 🇫🇷 #SorryGoodGame pic.twitter.com/98INTu6yU0
— RUGBYRAMA (@RugbyramaFR) December 11, 2022
Thanks @JonnyWilkinson for this masterclass kicking 🙂
Love my England friend 🏴 #WorldCup2022 pic.twitter.com/cNMpmDE9dx— Jean-Baptiste Gobelet (@JbGobelet) December 11, 2022
As for Jonny Wilkinson himself, the retired rugby star was accentuating the positives, on Saturday, after the footballers’ heart-wrenching defeat.
Outstanding effort @England Feels like there is still so much more to come from this group. Respect to each and every member of on and off field team.
— Jonny Wilkinson (@JonnyWilkinson) December 10, 2022
England boss Gareth Southgate is contracted up until after Euro 2024 but, last night, said he would take time to consider where he and his team stand before discussing his next moves with the Football Association.
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