Hugo Lloris, a teammate of Harry Kane’s at Tottenham, predicts that the England captain will recover stronger from his heartbreaking penalty loss to France.
In a fiercely contested quarterfinal match on Saturday, the Three Lions lost 2-1, sending Gareth Southgate’s team home from Qatar 2022 while Didier Deschamps’ team continued on course for a title defence.
Kane missed a late opportunity to tie the score at 2-2 after earlier scoring a penalty to tie the game and tie Wayne Rooney’s all-time record for goals scored by England.
Lloris, who has shared the field with Kane at Tottenham for the past ten years, claims to have had a brief conversation with his teammate and is confident that, once the dust settles, Kane will bounce back with flying colours.
“I don’t need to go too much further,” he said. “We texted after the game. It was not easy to find the words straight after, in the changing room. I think he needed some rest.
“It’s a difficult time for the English national team and for Harry, but I think he can be proud of what he’s done for the team during this World Cup.
“In football history, many top players missed important penalties in their career – like Leo Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo and Kylian Mbappe.
“I’ve no doubt he will keep his chin up, and he will have Tottenham and the national team to shine [for].”
Four years ago, Kane led England to the semi-finals at Russia 2018 and went on to win the Golden Boot. Last year, Kane also helped the Three Lions advance to the home final of Euro 2020.
With 53 goals in 80 international appearances, he has surpassed Rooney’s total by one goal.