Harry Kane shares Thomas Tuchel's secret message after England's World Cup loss to Argentina

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Harry Kane couldn't find the back of the net against Argentina as Thomas Tuchel's side was beaten by Argentina -CrediteFodi Images, DeFodi Images via Getty Images


England captain Harry Kane has disclosed that head coach Thomas Tuchel sent him a confidential message from the sideline before they endured a devastating late 2-1 loss to Argentina in their FIFA World Cup semifinal. The 32-year-old appeared reflective as he addressed the media following the crushing late setback, with Anthony Gordon's opening goal neutralized by Enzo Fernandez.

Substitute Lautaro Martinez then emerged in the second minute of added time to nod home the decisive goal for Argentina, who had controlled the closing stages of the match. Kane, who had an understated performance spearheading the attack for Tuchel's side, revealed what his manager communicated to him following Gordon's strike.

"The boys are always ready for any moment in the game. When we went ahead, the message was to go ahead and get another goal," Kane told BBC Sport.

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"Then obviously once they scored their two goals it was to try and find something [another goal]. But we couldn't quite get the momentum back in the game."

England have now advanced to the semifinal in three of their past four major competitions, in addition to reaching the UEFA Euro 2024 final before falling to Spain. When questioned about what the squad can take away, Kane acknowledged they were lacking something when it comes to the advanced stages of tournaments, via The Mirror.

"We had a lot of good moments in this tournament, a lot of good games, another semi-final," he added. "We talk about knocking on the door, we're close, but we just need to find that missing piece in the final stages of the tournament.

"These tournaments take it out of you, so much effort, pressure and mentality. We've shown a lot of that out of the six or seven weeks we've been together. We're just missing that final piece."

Tuchel had switched to a 5-4-1 formation for the last 25 minutes of the game, sending on Dan Burn and Nico O'Reilly to defend the slender lead. As Argentina pushed further forward, the Three Lions retreated onto the edge of their own box.

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When reflecting on England's downfall, Kane declined to point the finger at Tuchel's tactical approach, instead crediting Argentina's relentless pressure as the decisive factor in their victory.

"We struggled to get pressure on the ball. Especially first half and start of the second half, we pressed them well, we put them under loads of pressure high up the pitch which then allowed us to win balls and control the game a bit better," he added.

"After the goal, whether it was them putting more men forward or us not being able to match them man for man, it was just wave after wave. Lads were putting blocks in but, in the end, it just wasn't enough."

With England now eliminated, Argentina will set their sights on becoming just the third nation ever to claim back-to-back World Cup titles, following in the footsteps of Italy and Brazil. Scaloni's squad will square off against Spain in Sunday's final, after Luis de la Fuente's side dispatched France 2-0 on Tuesday.

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