WORLD CUP 2022

Alan Shearer: Penalty miss will haunt Harry Kane for life

Kane sent his second penalty over the bar on Saturday as England lost 2-1 to France in Qatar.

DYLAN MARTINEZREUTERS

Harry Kane’s World Cup quarter-final penalty miss will haunt him for the rest of his life, says former England striker Alan Shearer.

The Tottenham forward sent his second penalty over the bar on Saturday as England lost 2-1 to France in Qatar.

“That’s the life of a centre-forward. You put yourself in those positions and it will haunt Harry for the rest of his life,” Shearer said.

“But that is what you have to put up with as forward - you win some and you lose some.

“You don’t score every one and some chances mean more than others and it will hurt like hell.

“The biggest one I ever missed was against Sunderland and it still haunts me to this day.

“He won’t sleep well for a long time, that’s his personality and I know how much it means to him and the rest of the team.

“He will think he has cost England. We look at it a different way - he has saved us on many occasions.

“It hurts. It really hurts but you can imagine how the players feel if it hurts us so much.”

Brilliant Bellingham

Jude Bellingham, who is still only 19, announced himself on the grandest stage and was one of the highlights of the tournament for England.

Despite England’s elimination, Shearer said he can’t fault manager Gareth Southgate.

“Some people will find a way to criticise, they always do, but it was just down to one of those things and I can’t find any criticism of the manager,” Shearer added.

“Yes, he should (stay). I don’t have any doubt about that because he has had success in a way.

“I know he hasn’t delivered a trophy but you have to look at the bigger picture - not only this tournament but others where he has taken us into a final and a semi-final.

“In terms of his future I would say stay on because there are lots of really talented players in that England squad and he has managed to get the best out of them at different times.

“I would think he would look at that over the next couple of weeks and I hope he will decide to stay on and take us to where we want to go and deliver that trophy.”

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