Kane opened up for England’s future after bowing out at another World Cup

Harry Kane hinted his World Cup career may not be over after England were beaten 2-1 by Argentina in the semi-final at the Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, with Lionel Messi producing two late assists to deny the Three Lions their first World Cup final since 1966.

Anthony Gordon fired England ahead in the 55th minute after a Morgan Rogers save, and for 30 minutes the prospect of meeting Spain in Sunday’s final felt within reach.

But England’s decision to drop back to a five-man defense brought pressure that eventually overwhelmed them. Enzo Fernandez equalized with a long-range strike in the 85th minute after Messi rolled the ball into his path, and in the second minute of stoppage time, Messi crossed to the line for Lautaro Martinez to head home and complete another World Cup comeback for the defending champions.

It was a moment that will live long in the memory of everyone on the pitch, just not in the way England had hoped.

Kane, 32, was very hurt after the results, but when asked directly if it was the last World Cup, he left the door open.

“You know me as a person, it’s always about taking it year by year and how I feel,” said the England captain.

“The national team is my pride and joy. It’s something I love more than anything. Four years is still a long way, and as you can see with Leo. [Messi]he is still playing at a very high level. I don’t really want to limit these things. I will deal with all situations as they come. For now, it’s about processing another tough loss with this team.”

‘It’s been a missing piece in four or five competitions’

The method of defeat was familiar enough to strike twice. England have now led the way to the knockout stages of major tournaments on several occasions over the past decade, but have failed to see the game through. Kane didn’t shy away from that recurring theme.

“It’s a story like this that happened in previous competitions,” he said. “We struggled to keep the rhythm of the game.

“We did very well in those first 15 minutes of the second half; we scored, we deserved to be ahead. And then for some reason, we struggled to keep the ball, we struggled to put pressure on the ball, and it allowed them to increase the pressure and it created more of their attack in our final third.

“It’s common sense to try to hold on to one goal, but with 20 minutes to go and injury time, it’s always going to take a long time. We’ll have to look at the game back and figure out how we can improve in those situations. It’s probably been missing for the last four or five games.”

England’s decision to switch to five backs after Gordon’s goal drew criticism from the full-time pundits, with Kane admitting the set-up had its problems.

“There are always these discussions if they don’t go your way. We wanted to try to get pressure in the wide areas with five backs and an extra person to deal with the crosses.

“But we couldn’t get the pressure on Argentina, and whenever we cleared the ball or won the ball back, we couldn’t keep the ball enough. That’s a big part of it too: trying to change the momentum and finish the game with the second goal. It’s hard to process it all right now. We’ll have to look at it as a team. We’ll win and lose together.”

‘It’s been a missing piece in four or five competitions’

Kane reserved special praise for the England supporters who made the trip to Atlanta and those watching at home.

“There’s not much we can say at the moment. Everyone has to process what happened, everyone is gutted,” he said. “I have a heavy heart for all the boys, all the staff, everyone outside, because we know how much everyone puts in to be a successful national team.

“When you’re so close, 10 minutes or more, and it goes out of your hands like that, the boys are hurt. We have to put it on the chin. It’s the only thing we can do when we face a big team in Argentina, then we go and try to improve.

“Thank you very much to the fans who went. We know how much people have sacrificed to come here to support them, and how much it costs. In every game we have had support, it has been amazing. I know at home the fans have always been behind us, we feel bad for them too.

“We know what it means to them. We know what it would have meant to reach the final and have that day together. We gave everything: the last blood, sweat, tears, whatever it took, to try to get into the final and give the fans something to be happy about. We failed.”

Pundits point out strategic flaws

The BBC’s pundits were unanimous in their assessment that England’s decision to sit deep after taking the lead gave Argentina the control they needed.

Wayne Rooney is disappointed.

“We put ourselves in such a good position and we didn’t know what to do,” he said. “We sat back, we allowed Argentina to come in on us.

“They created a lot of chances, they put us under pressure, we couldn’t get out, and then we let them go.

“If you’re in a fight and you’re at the top, you have to stay on top. We got up 1-0 and sat back and made changes. We went five behind, six behind. If you let Messi and Argentina come to you, you’re asking for trouble.”

Micah Richards has been equally critical of Thomas Tuchel’s tactical decisions while accepting that Messi’s quality is ultimately the deciding factor.

“Tuchel was brought in to be the difference. Technically, we all thought he made a mistake in terms of changes when we went to five at the back.

“We could have kept the momentum going and picked up players on the flanks and moved up the pitch a bit. We didn’t have the answers. Let’s be honest about the whole situation: we’re up against Mexico, who are outstanding. Dig in against Norway.

“But really, England haven’t played well in the whole tournament. They’ve had moments. They played very well against Argentina in the first half and stuck to their job defensively. But it would have been a matter of time before we won the game because we couldn’t play running football until they scored.

“Argentina has Messi, the goat, the greatest. When he looked like he wasn’t doing much in the first half, it might have been Bellingham, before it was Kane. But that’s why he’s the king.

“He used that inside channel and said, OK, so you’re a little crowded on the field, I’ll show you what I can do on that right side.

“Two assistants, it’s amazing that he can walk around the field and come back to life when the ball reaches his feet.” I’m sad because in the first half we fought a good fight in terms of quality and intensity.

“We really fought for it. But then this genius came along, and sometimes that just makes the difference. We did it in the Croatia game, one of the goals they scored when England were really deep.

“We’ve been saying every tournament that we need to step up the field. Mexico and Norway weren’t good on the day, but if you give Lionel Messi that time and space, he’s going to be punished. That’s the difference.”