England's Harry Kane, the top scorer and captain of the national football team, admitted that trying to hold the lead against Argentina on Wednesday was not enough to reach the World Cup final. Argentina turned a 1-0 deficit into a 2-1 victory, avoiding the need for extra time and advancing to the final against Spain on Sunday. Kane, who has scored six goals in the ongoing World Cup, expressed great heartbreak after the loss. He told the British broadcaster BBC: 'We played a good game for most of it. After taking the lead, it seemed we tried to protect the result, which is not enough at this level, so we feel very frustrated because we worked hard to get here.' He added: 'The players gave everything—effort, sweat, and tears. To fail at the end like this is extremely painful.'

Regarding the problems England faced after taking the lead, the captain explained: 'We struggled to press the ball. We were pressing them well and putting them under a lot of pressure in their areas, which allowed us to win the ball back and control the game better.' He continued: 'After the goal, whether because they pushed more players forward or because we couldn't match them man-for-man, the attacks came wave after wave. The players made many tackles and interceptions, but in the end, it wasn't enough.'

Kane clarified: 'The message was to keep attacking and try to score another goal. Then after they scored their two goals, we tried to come back and find a solution, but we couldn't regain the momentum.'