It’s painful but we Kane be so proud

Upbeat Harry Kane insists he’s heading home from Russia with memories that will last a lifetime.

And the Three Lions skipper has picked out their dramatic penalty shoot-out win against Colombia in the last 16 at Moscow’s Spartak Stadium as the standout moment of his maiden World Cup.

Kane said: “That Colombia game had so many emotions in one game. I’ll never forget that. It will stay with me for the rest of my life.

“To be able to be there in those moments, enjoying it with the staff and lads, seeing everyone’s faces afterwards, was what it was all about. I’ll take amazing memories and learn from it.

“We went into the tournament wanting to win every game but that’s not always possible.

“There are highs and lows. Losing to Croatia was a low but it’s something we can learn from.

“It still hurts and it will hurt for a while but we can hold our heads high and be proud.”

Kane’s aim now is to keep the momentum going to Euro 2020, where the semi-finals and final will be played at Wembley.

He added: “We were one of the most inexperienced and youngest teams at the World Cup and did what we did. Now can we build on that?

“We have the Euros coming up in a couple of years. That’s a massive tournament and it’s about building the foundations for that and getting better and better as a team.”

While Kane came into the World Cup as a household name, it’s England’s other Harry – Maguire – who’s heading home from Russia as a cult hero. The Leicester defender has been a standout for England, helping them to their best finish at a World Cup since 1990.

But Maguire insists he won’t be changed and said: “I don’t know what will happen when we get home. I’ll try to stay as grounded as possible. I definitely won’t change and neither will my family.

“I’ll go home and carry on doing exactly the same things I did before we went to Russia.

“There are mixed emotions. We’re proud at what we did but are also extremely disappointed because we feel we had an amazing opportunity to reach a World Cup final.

“Now we have to try to build and grow together.

“One thing is for sure though – we feel like England are back now and competing again.”