It was his second penalty of the match and Three Lions skipper Harry Kane was poised in concentration over the ball, ready to repeat his earlier penalty kick success that had seen them secure their first equalizer. This time, however, his kick sent the ball not into the back of the net but soaring way over the crossbar into the stands.<\/p>\n
France forward Kylian Mbappe was spotted celebrating with raucous laughter, a far cry from Kane\u2019s muted, subdued animations as the latter pulled the front of his white England shirt up over his mouth, doing all he could to erase all that had transpired just before this and also to obliterate the wild delirium and pandemonium going on around him as an immediate return to the World Cup semifinals faded away most painfully.<\/p>\n
That 84th minute penalty opportunity was the leveller England so badly needed trailing 2-1 against the defending champions. It was the best chance on immediate offer to get back on even terms, exactly 30 minutes after Kane had scored from that same penalty spot to make it 1-1.<\/p>\n
With the match wrapped up at 2-1, France are now comfortably back in the semifinals and England sent packing \u2013 making this the Three Lions’ earliest elimination from a major soccer tournament since the 2016 European Championship.<\/p>\n
“We know how many penalties Harry\u00b4s scored for us – he scored the first one – how many goals he\u00b4s contributed for us to even get here,” England midfielder Jordan Henderson said. “He\u00b4ll be stronger for it in the long run, I\u00b4m sure. He\u00b4s a world class striker, our captain and like I say, we wouldn\u00b4t be here without him.”<\/p>\n
Kane was the leading scorer at the 2018 World Cup, winning the Golden Boot when England reached the semifinals for its best showing at soccer’s biggest tournament since 1990. He scored four goals last year at Euro 2020, when England reached the final but lost to Italy in a penalty shootout.<\/p>\n
For his Qatar stint, Kane was a starter in all five matches and notched two goals, with the first coming against Senegal in the round of 16 and the second on Saturday being his 53rd goal for England, moving him into a tie with Wayne Rooney for the most goals scored for the national team.<\/p>\n
“He\u00b4s been incredible for us and is so reliable in those sorts of situations,” England coach Gareth Southgate. “We wouldn\u00b4t be here but for the number of goals he\u00b4s scored for us.”<\/p>\n
Coincidentally the penalties against France pitted two of the Premier League\u2019s stalwarts, Kane, a Tottenham striker, against Hugo Lloris, a Tottenham goalkeeper.<\/p>\n
Lloris guessed the wrong way on Kane\u2019s first attempt, diving to his left as the ball went into the opposite corner. For the second, it made no difference whichever way Lloris dove as the ball went skyward.<\/p>\n
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