Kane: 'It's as painful as it can be in football'

Harry Kane paid tribute to the resilience of his England team after the disappointment of defeat in the final of UEFA EURO 2024.

As had been the case in the last 16, quarter-final and semi-final, England fought back from a goal down against Spain.

On this occasion, though, they could not complete the comeback, with Mikel Oyarzabal finding a winner four minutes from time.

For skipper Kane, there was understandable disappointment after losing in the final for the second edition running. But he was proud of the spirit shown by the team.

He said: “Losing in a final is as tough as it gets. We did really well to get back into the game and get back to 1-1. We couldn’t quite use that momentum to push on. We couldn’t quite keep the ball and we got punished for it towards the end of the game. It’s as painful as it can be in a football match.

"It's been a tough tournament, we have had to show a lot of resilience, the whole team has. It’s been a difficult ride, we’ve done extremely well to get here. We wanted to do it so badly for ourselves and also for the fans, everyone who has believed in us the whole way."

Trailing to Nico Williams’ strike barely a minute into the second half, England responded as Cole Palmer came off the bench to equalise.

INSTANT impact by Cole Palmer! ⚡️pic.twitter.com/P9K46QxU5m

— England (@England) July 14, 2024

But Spain had a super sub of their own, Oyarzabal steering home the winner late on, despite a late opportunity for Declan Rice and Marc Guehi, who were both denied from a corner.

Kane added: "We didn’t quite keep the same intensity and pressure. We didn’t keep the ball well enough. It’s the last stage of the tournament, there are a lot of tired legs.

"We just struggled and we got caught with the ball in behind. It’s down to big moments, we had one at the end where they cleared one off the line. For now, it’s just really disappointing."