England and its valiant captain Harry Kane knew the thrill of victory as they rose from the group stage into the quarterfinals of the 2022 World Cup. But when the team finally tasted the agony of defeat against rival France, it did so in a way that broke the hearts of English football fans the world over.
Seeing the great Harry Kane sky a penalty kick to ensure the loss, even after having risen to the exact same occasion earlier in the match — making his first effort from the stripe — the result was pure pain with no one to blame. (It often helps to have a villain in moments like this, but here there are none.)
That’s exactly what soccer legend David Beckham wanted to make clear, posting a rousing encomium to the England team that features a painful photo of Kane’s face — a picture that shows Kane being consoled, but inconsolable.
Beckham wrote: “Our boys will continue to grow.. It’s always the worst feeling waking up after being knocked out of a tournament but our players , Gareth the staff and all our fans can be proud of this team… It takes a true leader to step up in these moments and that’s what our captain did, the next time it will be a different ending 🏴 we walk away with our heads held high.”
Beckham could hardly have said it better. One team, alas, has to lose.
As Beckham acknowledges and reminds, it is hardly as if Kane had let the team down. Just the opposite, he’d delivered time and time again, embodying the fighting spirit of The Three Lions — until that fateful moment when he didn’t deliver.
It’s what makes sports the grand and tragic exercise they are: Sometimes you miss the shot, drop the ball, dump the volley, double fault. It happens. And it gets written in the history books and imprinted on the fans’ and players’ hearts.
