Harry Kane has urged his England teammates to learn from their World Cup failings and improve before Euro 2028, after they secured a bronze medal with a thrilling 6-4 win over France. The Three Lions captain said the squad must use the disappointment of falling short as motivation for future tournaments.
England's best finish in 60 years
England's third-place finish is their best at a World Cup since 1966, and their highest on foreign soil. The match in Mexico City was an extraordinary contest, with England leading 4-0 at half-time before France mounted a stunning comeback to make it 4-3. Bukayo Saka scored a hat-trick, Declan Rice was on target and provided an assist for Ezri Konsa, while Jude Bellingham sealed the win with a sixth goal.
Kane, who was rested for the match, said: "A lot of positives. Obviously people are going to be talking about it already. It's the highest finish in 60 years, the highest finish on foreign soil. There is a lot to be proud of."
Regret and disappointment linger
Despite the achievement, Kane admitted the squad is still haunted by the semi-final defeat to Argentina. "Of course we're still feeling it from the other night, the emotion and the what ifs. That will be with us for a while now," he said. "I'm proud of the boys, how we approached this game. It wasn't easy to find the mentality. We said before that every time you represent England it should be a proud moment. It's the least we deserved, to grab a medal."
Kane acknowledged the game was impossible to judge because of the circumstances, but highlighted the quality on display. "To score six against anyone you have to play a certain way and play well. Every time you get closer, knock on the door. You think you've learned and you have but we just have to keep going."
Tuchel under pressure after semi-final collapse
The match came after England's painful semi-final loss to Argentina, which saw them booed before kick-off when manager Thomas Tuchel's name was read out. The fans are hurting and angry, according to reports. However, the bronze medal win provided a much-needed response, with Tuchel's players showing resilience despite the heartbreak.
Saka's hat-trick was a standout performance, though it left some questioning why he had not been used more. Kane defended Tuchel, noting that Saka had not been at his best earlier in the tournament. Rice also impressed while wearing the armband, despite fitness struggles.
Areas for improvement ahead of Euro 2028
Kane stressed that England must use their failings as motivation and learn from their mistakes heading into the Nations League and Euro 2028. "It's easy to go away and talk about it. We need to get better at actually being in those situations," he said. "We can train, play the qualifiers… I think the Nations League will be big for us, against Spain and Croatia, big teams. Getting used to those big environments and finding our best form against those teams, like we did against France – albeit not in the most competitive match. We have to learn, improve."
He added: "The coach will have improved from these learnings. I can talk as much as I want but ultimately it's about showing it next time we're in that situation. We still showed signs of what we showed the other night unfortunately, when they started to come back into the game. We couldn't quite get the pressure on the ball and keep the ball. There is stuff we need to improve on."
Kane concluded: "We know over the next two years until we're facing that situation again there is always going to be a question mark. It's something we have to take and use as motivation."
