ATLANTA
\nHarry Kane said he was \u201cgutted\u201d for England and their fans after his team were beaten 2-1 by defending champions Argentina in the World Cup semifinals on Wednesday. Anthony Gordon\u2019s strike had put the Three Lions on the cusp of a first men\u2019s World Cup final since they lifted the 1966 trophy but Lionel Messi inspired a dramatic turnaround in Atlanta.
\nHe set up Enzo Fernandez, who blasted home from outside the area, and provided an inch-perfect cross for Lautaro Martinez\u2019s winner in stoppage time. \u201cGutted for the boys, gutted for everyone \u2014 the team, the staff, the fans,\u201d England captain Kane told the BBC.
\n\u201cWe played a good game, the large majority of it. When we went 1-0 up we seemed to try and hold on, which at this level is not enough. \u201cSo, just gutted because we\u2019ve worked so hard to be here and the lads have given every last bit of running, blood, sweat, tears.\u201d
\nBayern Munich forward Kane, who scored six goals during the tournament, said Thomas Tuchel\u2019s men had struggled to repel constant attacks from the defending champions. \u201cAfter the goal, whether it was them putting more men forward or us not being able to match them man for man, it was just wave after wave,\u201d he said.
\n\u201cLads were putting blocks in but, in the end, it just wasn\u2019t enough.\u201d He said England had not planned to rely on defending after Gordon\u2019s goal. \u201cWhen we went ahead the messaging was to go again and get another goal,\u201d he added. \u201cThen once they scored their two goals it was to try and find something but we couldn\u2019t quite get the momentum back in the game.\u201d
\nEngland have now reached at least the semifinal stage in four of the past five major tournaments, but have still not won a major tournament since the 1966 World Cup. Kane turns 33 later this month and refused to be drawn on whether he imagines still being part of the team by the time the next World Cup comes around.
\nHe may be inspired by the performances of Lionel Messi, 39, who has scored eight goals at the 2026 tournament. \u201cAs a person, it\u2019s always just about taking it year by year and how I feel,\u201d Kane told reporters. \u201cThe England national team is my pride and joy. It\u2019s what I love to do more than anything.
\n\u201cObviously, four years is a long way away. I\u2019ll be 33 this summer, but as you see on the other hand with Leo there, he\u2019s still performing at the highest level. \u201cI never want to put a limit on these things. But for now, it\u2019s just about processing another tough loss with this team.\u201d <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
ATLANTA Harry Kane said he was \u201cgutted\u201d for England and their fans after his team were beaten 2-1 by defending champions Argentina in the World Cup semifinals on Wednesday. Anthony Gordon\u2019s strike had put the Three Lions on the cusp of a first men\u2019s World Cup final since they lifted the 1966 trophy but Lionel […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":556725,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-556710","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-sports"],"yoast_head":"\n