New Delhi, July 15 After England's heart-wrenching 1-2 defeat to Spain in the Euro 2024 final, skipper Harry Kane reflected on the "tired mentality" that plagued The Three Lions during the decisive moments of the summit clash.
The final saw a dramatic second half where England equalised through Cole Palmer after falling behind to Nico Williams' opener for Spain.
Despite the surge of energy following Palmer's goal, England struggled to maintain their momentum. The decisive moment came in the 86th minute when Mikel Oyarzabal finished off a brilliant cross from Marc Cucurella, sealing Spain's victory and handing them their 16th European Championship title.
Kane spoke about the physical and mental fatigue that seemed to overtake the team in the final stages. "It is the last stage of the tournament, there are a lot of tired legs there and a lot of tired mentality. We struggled, and then obviously we got caught with the ball in behind, it comes down to big moments," Kane said to BBC.
England had a glimmer of hope in the dying minutes, but Dani Olmo's crucial clearance off the line dashed any hopes of a late comeback. Reflecting on the near-miss, Kane lamented, "We had a big moment at the end there, where they cleared one off the line. It could have been different, but for now it is just really disappointing."
This defeat marks Kane's second loss in a major final with England, following the penalty shoot-out heartbreak against Italy in Euro 2020. "Losing in a final is as tough as it gets. We did really well to get back into the game and get it to 1-1. We couldn't quite use that momentum to push on, we couldn't quite keep the ball and then we got punished for it towards the end of the game," he said.
The questions also loom over Gareth Southgate's future as England manager. Although Southgate indicated he would take time to reflect on his position and Kane expressed the team's support for their coach. "We made it clear, we love the manager, but it is his decision [to remain on as England manager or not] and now is not the time to talk about that. That is down to him, he will go away and think about it, right now we are all just hurting," Kane said.
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