Kane ran up to Bukayo Saka to celebrate after his hat-trick. (Image: Getty Images)
Harry Kane, while celebrating his fifth goal against France with his team-mates, questioned why England couldn’t produce a similar performance against Argentina, according to a lip reader. Thomas Tuchel’s side achieved an impressive 6-4 victory in the World Cup bronze medal match on Saturday night. Declan Rice, Ezri Konsa and Jude Bellingham each scored one goal, while Bukayo Saka completed a hat-trick.
The Arsenal winger was one of eight changes to the starting XI, with Ivan Toney also given a place in the off-season. As a result, Kane was left on the bench and was kept out of action, but he still threw himself into the celebrations. After Saka’s third goal and England’s fifth, Kane was the first to rush to congratulate Saka, and was also seen later sending a pointed message to his England team-mates.
Lip reader Nicola Hickling reports via Covers.com that Kane was happy with the performance, but couldn’t help but wonder aloud why the same performance didn’t happen against Argentina. “Okay, great job. It’s a shame I couldn’t play like this the other day,” he said, according to Hickling.
The fifth goal effectively ended concerns that France could come back from 0-4 down after the 2018 champions improved to 4-3. Two goals from Kylian Mbappé and another from Bradley Barcola within just 18 minutes of the second half put Didier Deschamps’ side back in contention.
Mbappe’s double moved him past Lionel Messi in both the Golden Boot standings and all-time goalscoring list. After that, substitute Ousmane Dembele scored after Saka’s hat-trick, while Bellingham also scored as a substitute just before the end of stoppage time in the second half.
Saka’s treble made him the fourth English player to score a hat-trick in a World Cup, sparking controversy over Tuchel’s decision to leave Saka out of the starting XI against Argentina.
England suffered one of the most heartbreaking defeats in the country’s football history on Wednesday, but the reigning champions scored two late goals to seal a 2-1 victory and advance to the final.
England took the lead in the 55th minute with a goal from Anthony Gordon, and their lead lasted until the 85th minute. England looked set to hang on for a 1-0 win against Argentina when Enzo Fernandes equalized for the South American team with a shot from outside the box.
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England’s Harry Kane didn’t play a single minute in the match against France. (Image: Getty Images)
Messi then sent a cross to Lautaro Martinez in the second minute of stoppage time, and the striker completed the comeback with a header.
England’s impressive run ended in devastating fashion, with their hopes of reaching their first World Cup final since 1966 dashed in an instant. The loss also had special meaning for Kane, who will be 36 when the next World Cup begins in 2030.
Kane’s age and disastrous defeat led to questions about his possible retirement from international football, but the England captain dismissed the motive, pointing to 39-year-old Messi. “It’s too early to talk about that,” Cain said.
“As a person, it’s always about how I perceive each year and how I feel. The national team is my pride and joy. That’s what I want to do most of all.”
“Obviously, four years is a long time. He will be 33 in the summer. But as you can see with Leo (Messi) on the other side, he is still performing at the highest level.
“I don’t want to put limits on these things. We’ll deal with every situation as it comes, but for now, it’s just dealing with another bad loss with this team.”
