‘Signs of anxiety’ – Wayne Rooney warns Harry Kane about potential ‘backlash’

Former Manchester United forward Wayne Rooney has had his say on Harry Kane’s penalty miss for England against France.

The Tottenham marksman had the chance to make it 2-2 against Les Bleus late on in the second half of their World Cup quarter-final but despite having earlier beaten club team-mate Hugo Lloris from twelve yards out, he sent his second effort over high over the bar.

Kane’s miss proved to be costly after the Three Lions were unable to find the back of the net in the remaining six minutes to end their dreams of a first World Cup win since 1966.

The 29-year-old admitted after the match that he will have to live with the penalty miss which also saw him pass up the opportunity to become England’s all-time record goalscorer, which he currently holds alongside Rooney on 53 goals (ESPN).

Rooney believes Kane was the right person to step up to take the second spot-kick but revealed that he saw some uncharacteristic nerves from Kane ahead of his subsequent effort.

He told The Times: “2022 was Harry Kane’s best tournament. And what’s next for Harry? There will be some backlash.

“It will happen when he plays away from home with Spurs and fans of the opposition give him stick to try and upset him. But as soon as he scores his next goal, the missed penalty will begin to be forgotten about.

“From knowing Harry, and his mentality, he’ll be able to move on — he just needs to get back on the pitch and put the ball in the net as soon as possible. Harry had to cope not just with thoughts about the record but the whole scenario.

“He was trying to get England level late in a massive game, his club captain was the opposing keeper and he had already taken a penalty in the game. For a taker, what a horrible situation. So much must have been going through Harry’s head. Do I go the same way, do I go the other way?

“He’s my teammate, he knows how I run up to the ball, my favourite side, my body shape when I kick, even the way I put the ball down on the spot — every detail. I could see his nerves, straightaway, as he prepared for the kick — little signs of anxiety that you almost never see in Harry.

“But Harry will be back. I’ve heard people say someone else should have taken it. . . no chance. As an England fan, if someone else had taken the ball I would have been fuming. There is nobody else I’d wanted on that penalty but Harry.”

SpursWeb Opinion

Kane is a model professional and his drive and hunger will push him on to want to succeed even more, hopefully, Tottenham can persuade him that his future remains in north London as his current deal continues to tick down with just over a year left on it.

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