England’s Kane misses out on golden shot at title
Harry Kane will likely come home from the World Cup with the Golden Boot as the tournament’s top scorer and a burnished reputation as a feared forward.
Had Kane added to his six goals in Russia with either of his back-to-back chances in the second half against Croatia on Wednesday, when England was dominating and led 1-0, he could yet be lifting the trophy on Sunday.
Or the header in stoppage time at the end of 90 minutes when the score was 1-1 and a goal would likely have brought England back to the Luzhniki Stadium for the final against France.
Rising high at the back post to meet another precise free kick from Kieran Trippier, Kane misconnected and the ball bounced wide of the goal.
“It’s been great to get to this stage but we wanted to keep going. We wanted to win it all,” Kane said. “It hurts. I don’t know what else to say. It just hurts.”
When Kane got his best chance in the 30th minute against Croatia, his first shot was saved by goalkeeper Danijel Subasic.
The ball rebounded almost out of the play, then sat up for Kane to take another shot from less than two yards. The ball hit the post, ricocheted off Subasic and somehow looped up to safety.
Kane would not get another such opportunity with the ball at his feet. And Croatia would never let England get so close again.
It meant another World Cup semifinal heartbreaker for England, only this time the game was under control before it was lost.