Harry Kane spent the afternoon of the World Cup final on a New York golf course, with the television off. Ten weeks on from the semi-final in Atlanta, where Argentina scored twice in the closing minutes to knock England out, the England captain still could not sit through Spain and Argentina fighting for the trophy his side had been sent home from.
Speaking at England’s camp before Saturday’s Nations League opener, Kane went further than at any point since July.
“It just felt like it wasn’t us as a team. It wasn’t the team that we wanted to be and said we’d be.”
The Bayern Munich striker ranked the defeat above every previous England setback he has been part of, including the missed penalty against France in the Qatar 2022 quarter-final.
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“I have been to the finals, to semi-finals and been so close. Each one hurts in a different way. This one hurt, for sure. More than any other one.”
“I would probably say even more than when I missed a penalty in Qatar, just in the manner that it happened.”
Atlanta, and two late Argentina goals
England were leading 1-0 at Atlanta Stadium on 15 July when Enzo Fernández equalised from 20 yards in the 85th minute, before Lautaro Martínez headed in the winner two minutes into stoppage time. Argentina went through 2-1 and met Spain in the final four days later.
Kane’s verdict is that his side stopped playing the way it had promised to play.
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“Sometimes when you maybe go against your beliefs, and you lose, it feels 10 times worse than just losing in a way where if we lose doing it our way, you accept it, take it on the chin and move on.”
Spain took the trophy in extra time at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, Ferran Torres scoring in the 106th minute for a 1-0 win over the defending champions. Kane, by then, had already switched off.
Kane: Nations League could ‘catapult’ England
The same Spain side arrives at Wembley on Saturday for the opening fixture of England’s 2026-27 Nations League campaign. Kick-off is at 7:45pm local time. It is Thomas Tuchel’s first competitive match since Atlanta, with Trent Alexander-Arnold back in the 27-man squad. Cole Palmer withdrew on 21 September.
Kane framed the rematch as more than a grudge fixture.
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“I know there’s a perception that the Nations League maybe not being as important, but when you haven’t won for so long I think just the feeling of winning a trophy with England could then catapult us going into the Euros in a couple of years.”
England travel to face Czechia on 29 September.
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