Tottenham Hotspur and England striker Harry Kane has been described as a “magnificent”, “world class” player by Three Lions teammate Harry Maguire.
The Manchester United centre-back came to the defence of the Spurs star in wake of England’s narrow defeat to France in the World Cup quarter-finals.
Kane drew Gareth Southgate’s side level in the 54th minute from the penalty spot after Aurelien Tchouameni had opened the scoring for Les Bleus in the first half.
The Tottenham ace then had a second chance to equalise from 12 yards in the 84th minute after Olivier Giroud had made it 2-1 on 78 minutes.
However, Kane uncharacteristically blazed his second spot kick over, and England couldn’t muster up a response thereafter.
Maguire, speaking to beIN SPORTS after the game (10/12/22, 21:45), rallied round behind his international teammate.
“H (Kane) will be really disappointed, as are we all,” said Maguire.
“H is a magnificent player. World-class player. World-class striker and he is our leader.
“He is our captain. And he will be back. He will pick himself up.
“And the next penalty he gets, then I am sure he will stick it in the back of the net.
“That’s football. Tournament football can be cruel. It’s decided on big moments.”
Absolutely spot on from Maguire. Kane will no doubt be gutted about his missed effort, but it’s just one of those things.
Penalties are always a bit of a lottery, and even among the best players of all time, there won’t be many with 100 percent records from the spot.
In major tournaments, the margins between glory and defeat are paper-thin. It’s a massive shame, but as Maguire said, that’s football.
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