This will haunt Kane for rest of his life, says Shearer

ENGLAND captain Harry Kane’s World Cup quarterfinal penalty miss will haunt him for the rest of his life, according to former striker Alan Shearer.

Gareth Southgate’s side exited the tournament in Qatar after the Tottenham forward blazed over his second spot-kick late on in the 2-1 defeat to France.

Shearer believes that will live with Kane forever, saying “That’s the life of a centreforward. You put yourself in those positions and it will haunt Harry for the rest of his life.

“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.”

Despite the quarter-final disappointment there were reasons to be positive about England’s performance in

Qatar. The emergence of 19-year-old Jude Bellingham as a world-class talent at a major tournament was a particular highlight but the versatility and options available mean Shearer thinks Southgate – contracted for another two years – has plenty of reasons to continue in the job.

“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,” he 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.”