Kane rues England´s Euro 2024 final heartbreak as ´missed opportunity´

Harry Kane conceded “an opportunity missed” for England after the Three Lions suffered Euro 2024 final heartbreak against Spain in Berlin.

The Three Lions became the first nation to lose back-to-back European Championship finals, as Mikel Oyarzabal snatched a 2-1 victory for La Roja with four minutes remaining on Sunday.

Substitute Cole Palmer had earlier cancelled out Nico Williams’ second-half opener, but it was not to be once again for Gareth Southgate’s side, whose 58-year wait for silverware continues.

Kane acknowledged the feeling of defeat was “extremely painful” after another blow in the European Championships.

Our #EURO2024 journey comes to an end at the final stage, as the #ThreeLions are beaten 2-1 by Spain. pic.twitter.com/3oUgFANkGW

— England (@England) July 14, 2024

“It’s hard to put into words how we’re all feeling right now,” the England captain told ITV.

“Tough game. We did well to get back into the game and struggled to build on that. To concede late on is really tough to take.

“We’ve been coming from behind all tournament, we’ve got it in the locker. We didn’t take the next step and win it.

“In the first half, we struggled. We couldn’t keep the ball. [The] second half was better and we got the goal. We got caught with a cross and that’s the final.

“It’s an opportunity missed. These finals aren’t easy to get to. You have to take it when it comes, and we haven’t done it again. It’s extremely painful, and it’ll hurt for a long time.”

With his current contract set to expire in December, it remains to be seen whether Southgate will remain in charge of the Three Lions, who turn their attention to the 2026 World Cup.

“Gareth will go away and take time to decide,” Kane added. “We wanted to win it for him.”