World Cup against France
England coach Gareth Southgate has left his future open after the World Cup. “I need time to make correct decisions. It’s very emotional. You have so many different feelings at a World Cup like this. It takes so much energy, a lot of energy,” said Southgate at the press conference in Al-Khour after his team lost the World Cup quarter-finals 2-1 to defending champions France. The 52-year-old ex-professional has a contract with the “Three Lions” until 2024. So far he has been completely focused on the World Cup and has therefore not thought about the future.
“I want to make the right decision, whatever it is. The right decision for the team and for the association. It’ll take some time,” Southgate added. He didn’t want to blame his team after the bitter defeat, which was also caused by a penalty miss by Harry Kane. “The statistics all spoke for us. I’m really proud of our team, not just today but throughout the tournament. We showed character,” Southgate said. It was “a difficult evening”.
Mbappé alone at the top: top scorers for the 2022 World Cup
Kane with two records: Frustration after the World Cup outweighs
Striker Kane set two new records in the duel with France, but he didn’t care about them after the bitter World Cup defeat. “That will haunt us for a while, but we will put that behind us too. As captain, I take responsibility, including taking the penalty,” said Kane. The 29-year-old converted a penalty (54th minute), shot another later (84th) but clearly over the goal – a short time later the Englishmen, who had not had a title since 1966, were out.
With the first goal, Kane drew level as England’s record scorer with Wayne Rooney (both 53 goals), who congratulated Kane via “Twitter” on breaking the record. The striker will soon hold the record alone, wrote the 37-year-old Rooney, “I couldn’t imagine a better successor”.
Moreover, no player in World Cup history has had more penalties from play than the Tottenham Hotspur pro, who converted from the point for the fourth time. “I can’t blame my preparation or details for the miss,” Kane explained. “I felt just as confident with the first penalty as I did with the second.” Southgate nonetheless praised his leader. “He’s the best shot. But even the best miss sometimes. This is soccer. For me he is a fantastic leader, he played his best game at this World Cup.”
Absolutely gutted for the lads but proud of the way they’ve played this tournament and they should be proud. Congratulations to @HKane on equalizing the record, he’ll be on his own soon and couldn’t think of anyone better to take over. Keep your head up Harry @England
— Wayne Rooney (@WayneRooney) December 10, 2022
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